Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday September 9th through Sunday September 15th.
The moon is at first quarter on Thursday the 12th, so we will have a waxing crescent moon for the first half of the week and a waxing gibbous moon for the remainder of the week.
Mercury is very low in the west after sunset and is setting just 45 minutes after the sun at midweek.
Venus is low in the west-southwest at nightfall and is setting at 9:30 p.m. Saturn is above and a little to the left of Venus and is setting about half an hour later at 10 p.m. Look for Saturn to the right of the crescent moon on Monday evening.
Jupiter is up in the east at 2:15 a.m. at midweek followed by Mars at 4:05 a.m.
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. To get to the telescope, take the elevator to the 5th floor and exit to the left. Follow the 5th floor hallway to the end and take the staircase through the double doors on the left. Once you reach the 6th floor, go to your right and follow the signs up to the telescope. Please note that there will be no Painter Telescope viewing on Saturday evenings when the UT football team has a night home game. To check the football schedule, logon to texassports.com. The game for Saturday the 14th is in Austin and starts at 7 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 60 minutes before the scheduled viewing start time.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.
