Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Tuesday September 4th through Sunday September 9th.
The moon was at third quarter late on Sunday September 2nd into the early morning hours of Monday September 3rd and will be new on Sunday September 9th, so we'll have a waning crescent moon in our early morning skies all of this week.
Venus is low in the west-southwest at sunset as is starts to move back towards the sun from the Earth's point of view. Venus is setting at 9:30 p.m. this week.
Jupiter is up in the southwest - a little higher and to the left of Venus - and is setting at 10:50 p.m.
Saturn is up in the south at sundown and is setting at 1:45 a.m.
Mars is high in the southeast as evening falls and is setting at 3:35 a.m. The distance between Earth and Mars is now increasing so Mars is starting to decrease in brightness and angular size, although it is currently still quite bright.
In the morning skies, Mercury is rising about an hour before the sun as it moves towards its next conjunction.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights currently from 8 to 10 p.m. RLM 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.
Public viewing at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall is on Friday and Saturday nights from currently 8 to 10 p.m. Painter Hall is located on 24th street about halfway between Speedway and Guadalupe and is northeast of the UT Tower. Please note that there will be no Painter Telescope viewing on Saturday evenings when the UT football team has a night home game. Logon to TexasSports.com to check the football schedule. This Saturday's game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. so there will be no Painter Hall viewing that night.
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.
