texas

skywatchers report


Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday October 3rd through Sunday October 9th.

The moon is at first quarter on Saturday night into Sunday morning, so we'll have a waxing crescent moon for almost all of this week.

Venus is now setting an hour and a half after the sun, so you should be able to see it for a while low in the west-southwest in the evening twilight. If you look carefully on Monday evening, a very slim crescent moon will be about 5 degrees above Venus.

Saturn is up in the southwest as darkness falls and is setting at 10:20 p.m. at midweek, so there still a little time to catch it before it gets too low.

Mars is at the top of the teapot of Sagittarius this week and is setting just a little before midnight.

Mercury is up a little over an hour before the sun, so you might be able to pick it out from the morning twilight. Jupiter follows about half an hour later as it emerges from conjunction with the sun.

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.

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.