Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday April 14th through Sunday April 20th.

The moon was full late on Saturday the 12th and will be at third quarter late on Sunday the 20th, so we’ll have a waning gibbous moon for all of this week.

Jupiter is up in the west at sunset and is setting around midnight at midweek.

Mars is still high overhead at sunset and is currently in a line with the bright starts Castor and Pollux of the constellation Gemini the Twins. Mars is setting at 3 a.m. at midweek.

In the morning skies, Venus is rising at 5:15 a.m., an hour and 45 minutes before sunrise, so you should be able to see it in the dawn twilight with a good view towards the east.

Saturn is rising at 5:40 a.m. and Mercury follows at 5:55 a.m.

In space anniversaries this week, the Demonstration for Autonomous Rendezvous Technology mission, or DART, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base 20 years ago on April 15th. The goal of the mission was to demonstrate automated spacecraft navigation by having DART rendezvous with a target spacecraft, a Department of Defense communications satellite. DART reached orbit and acquired its target, but multiple malfunctions caused it to collide with the DoD satellite, ending the DART mission. The DoD satellite remained operational after the collision and still remains in low earth orbit.

Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights currently from 8:30 to 10:30 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.

Public viewing at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall is on Friday and Saturday nights from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Painter Hall is located on 24th street about halfway between Speedway and Guadalupe and is northeast of the UT Tower. Enter Painter Hall on the east side of the building at the "Celebrated Entrance", take the elevator to the 5th floor then take the stairs up to the 6th floor and follow the signs up to the telescope. Next week will be the final week of viewing at the Painter Hall Telescope for the Spring 2025 semester.

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.