texas

skywatchers report


Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report for Monday November 2nd through Sunday the 8th.

The full moon for the month of November is on Monday the 2nd. This full moon is known as the Frost Moon and the Beaver Moon. The moon will be right next to the Pleiades star cluster on the night of the 3rd.

Jupiter is now high in the south at 7 p.m., with the much fainter Neptune nearby. Uranus is in the southeast in the early evenings. Mars is now up before midnight, rising at about 11:30 p.m. at midweek.

Mercury is at superior conjunction with the sun on November 5th, so it will pass behind the sun from the Earth’s perspective. Mercury will then emerge in the evening skies over the next couple of weeks. Saturn is rising at 3:30 a.m. with Venus following at 5:30. Venus is rising a little later each morning and will be in conjunction with the sun early in 2010.

Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights now from 7 to 9 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 now from 7 to 9 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 mackbrown-texasfootball.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. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 232-4265 for weather cancellation information, which is updated 30 to 60 minutes before the scheduled viewing start time when a viewing is cancelled.

Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report.