Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday July 31 through Sunday August 6.
The first full moon of August is on Tuesday August 1st and then we’ll have a waning gibbous moon for the remainder of the week. The full moon for August is known as the Grain Moon and the Green Corn Moon. This full moon will be near perigee – the moon’s closest point to the Earth in its orbit – so there will be larger than average tides that day.
Venus is now setting just 20 minutes after the Sun at midweek as it heads towards conjunction next week.
Mercury is low in the west at sundown and is setting at 9:40 p.m. at midweek, about an hour and 15 minutes after the sun.
Mars is also low in the west and is setting at 10:05 p.m. at midweek.
Saturn rises at 9:35 p.m. and is visible for the remainder of the night. Look for Saturn to the left of the moon on Wednesday night.
Jupiter is rising at 1:00 a.m. at midweek.
In space anniversaries this week, Monday July 31 marks 15 years since the announcement that the Phoenix Lander had definitively detected the presence of water from the surface of Mars. Previous missions had shown evidence of past water and the presence of current water was detected from orbit by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, but Phoenix was the first to directly measure it on the surface.
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.
Next week will be the final week of summer public viewing at PMA. Fall viewing will start in a few weeks.
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.
