Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday March 23rd through Sunday March 29th.

The moon is at first quarter on Wednesday the 25th so we’ll start the week with a waxing crescent moon and finish with a waxing gibbous moon.

Saturn is in conjunction with the sun on Wednesday when it will pass behind the sun from the Earth’s perspective and then will reemerge into the morning skies over the next few weeks.

Venus continues to climb away from the sun and further into our early evening skies, so you should be able to spot it low in the west shortly after sunset. Venus is setting at 9:15 p.m. at midweek.

Jupiter is still high in the sky after sunset and is setting at 3:20 a.m. at midweek. Look for Jupiter near the moon on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

In the morning skies, Mercury is rising at 6:20 a.m., over an hour before the Sun, and Mars is rising at 6:45 a.m., about 45 minutes before the Sun.

In space anniversaries this week, Monday March 23rd marks 25 years since the Russian Mir space station was deorbited and reentered the Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean. The station had been on orbit for 15 years and had hosted 104 visitors from 12 nations, including the longest duration human spaceflight of 437 days by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov and the first long duration spaceflight by an American woman, astronaut Shannon Lucid, who lived on Mir for 179 days in 1996.

Public viewing at the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights now 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 now 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. Take the elevator to the 5th floor then take the stairs up to the 6th floor and follow the signs up to the telescope.

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 star party status information, which is updated 30 to 45 minutes before the scheduled viewing start times.

Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.