Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report for Monday January 29th through Sunday February 4th.
The moon is full on Friday February 2nd. This full moon is known as the Wolf Moon, the Snow Moon and the Hunger Moon.
Venus is still climbing higher and higher each evening as it shines brightly in the west after sunset. Look for Mercury below and slightly to the right of Venus this week.
Look for Saturn above the full moon on Friday night, rising at around 6:45 p.m. Jupiter and Mars are still early morning objects with Jupiter rising at 3:30 a.m. and Mars rising at 5:30 a.m.
Last Wednesday the Mars Rover Opportunity celebrated its third Earth year on the surface of the Red Planet. Its sister rover Sprit celebrated its third anniversary on January 3rd. Both rovers continue to function and send back data long past their original 90 day missions. To keep up with the rovers and all the spacecraft at Mars, logon to mars.jpl.nasa.gov
Public viewing at the 16 inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights 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 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.
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 viewing start time on nights when public viewing is cancelled.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report.
