Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report for November 4th through the 10th.
The new moon for the month of November is on Monday the 4th. The moon will be 5 degrees south of Neptune on the 10th. A finder charts, a medium-sized telescope and good skies will help you find the distant blue planet.
Late last week, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory released the first image of Saturn taken by the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini will be entering orbit around the ringed planet in July 2004 and will release a probe to investigate the large moon Titan in January 2005. To see the image and learn more about the mission, go to the Cassini homepage at saturn.jpl.nasa.gov
Over the weekend the Stardust mission flew by an asteroid named in honor of Anne Frank. The small space rock was on the spacecraft's trajectory as it heads out to rendezvous with the comet Wild 2 in 2004. Images are being transmitted from the spacecraft and will be posted to the mission website at stardust.jpl.nasa.gov
The telescope at Robert Lee Moore hall is open to the public on Wednesday nights starting at 7 p.m. The building 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.
The telescope at Painter hall is open on Fridays for UT students, faculty and staff from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays are open to the general public from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Painter Hall is located on 24th street about half way between Speedway and Guadalupe.
All events are free and open to all ages and no reservations are required. Observing events are weather permitting.
Please note that star party times change throughout the year. Please call this recording to check times before planning a visit to the telescopes.
