Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday December 4 through Sunday December 10.
The moon is at third quarter late on Monday night and will reach new moon on Tuesday the 12th, so we’ll have a waning crescent moon for most of this week.
Mercury is at greatest elongation on Monday the 4th when it will be at its farthest point from the sun in our evening skies this season. Mercury will set at 6:50 p.m. that evening, about an hour and 20 minutes after the sun sets.
Saturn is now up in the south-southwest at sundown and is setting at 11:15 p.m. at midweek.
Jupiter is high in the east-southeast in the early evening and is setting at 4:15 a.m. at midweek.
In the early morning skies, Venus is rising at 3:55 a.m. at midweek, still more than three hours before sunrise. Look for Venus and the very thin crescent moon together on Saturday morning.
Mars is still too close to the sun to be seen after conjunction a few weeks ago.
In space anniversaries this week, Monday December 4th marks 45 years since the Pioneer Venus spacecraft entered orbit around Venus, the first US spacecraft to orbit that planet. The mission returned data until October 1992, a total of nearly 14 years in orbit, until its fuel was depleted and its orbit decayed until the spacecraft disintegrated in the Venusian atmosphere.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday night from 7 to 9 p.m. PMA 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.
This week will be the final week of public viewing on the PMA telescope for the fall semester.
Public viewing at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall concluded last week. Spring semester viewing will start in the second half of January. Please check back for details on starting dates and times.
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.
