Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday July 25th through Sunday July 31st.
The moon is new on Thursday the 28th so we’ll start the week with a waning crescent moon in our early morning skies and finish the week with a waxing crescent moon in our early evening skies.
Mercury is still close to the sun after its last conjunction and is setting just 45 minutes after the sun at midweek. Just after Mercury sets in the west this week, Saturn is rising at 9:20 p.m. and is just a couple of weeks from opposition and the best time of year to see the ringed planet.
Jupiter is rising at 11:30 p.m., about two hours after Saturn. And about two hours after Jupiter, Mars is rising at 1:25 a.m. Venus is rising at 5 a.m. at midweek, about an hour and 45 minutes before sunrise. Venus will be near the thin waning crescent moon on Monday and Tuesday mornings.
The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks within a day of the new moon, so this is a good year to try to observe this shower. The shower gets its name because they appear to come from an area near the star Delta Aquarii and are caused by the Earth passing through the debris of the comet 96P/Machholz. These meteors tend to be fainter, and the shower usually produces about 20 meteors an hour at the peak.
In space news from last week, the first images from the now fully operational James Webb Space Telescope were released to the public and you can see the images at webbtelescope.org and webb.nasa.gov. Programs headed by and involving UT astronomers are already receiving their data from the first science observations from JWST.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. this summer. PMA is located on the southeast corner of Dean Keeton and Speedway. Take the elevator to the 17th floor and follow the signs to the telescope.
There will be no public viewing at the Painter Hall Telescope this summer. Friday and Saturday night viewing at Painter Hall will resume in the fall semester.
All events are free and open to all ages and no reservations are required. Note that viewing times and availability change throughout the year so please check the schedule before planning a visit. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 512-232-4265 for weather cancellation information, which is updated 30 to 45 minutes before the scheduled viewing start time.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.
