Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report for Tuesday September 26th to Sunday October 1st.
The moon is at first quarter on the morning of Saturday the 30th.
The crescent moon is alongside Jupiter low in the southwest on Tuesday the 26th. On Wednesday they are still roughly in a line, but the moon will be father to the south.
The innermost planet, Mercury, will be above the bright star Spica low in the west this week. The two will be about a degree apart on Wednesday the 27th and Thursday the 28th.
Images from last week’s annular solar eclipse are available at spaceweather.com
New images of Mars from the Mars Express mission were released over the past week showing amazing details of the Red Planet. More information on the mission and the new images can be seen at the Mars Express website at mars.esa.int
Public viewing at the 16 inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights 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 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 public viewing at the Painter Hall telescope on Saturday nights when the UT football team has a home game starting after 5 p.m. Check mackbrown-texasfootball.com for current scheduling information. The game for September 30th is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, so there will be no public 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. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 232-4265 for weather cancellation information, which is updated 30 to 60 minutes before viewing start time on nights when public viewing is cancelled.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report.
