Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday February 5 through Sunday February 11.
The new moon for the month of February is on Friday the 9th, so we’ll have a waning crescent moon in the predawn skies for most of the week and start into the waxing crescent phase at the weekend.
Saturn is low in the west-southwest at sunset and is setting at 7:35 p.m., about an hour and 20 minutes after the sun. A one day old crescent moon will be alongside Saturn on Saturday night.
Jupiter is high in the south-southwest at sunset and is setting at 12:20 a.m. at midweek.
In the morning skies, Venus is rising at 5:35 a.m., now a little less than two hours before the sun. Look for the waning crescent moon near Venus on Wednesday morning.
Mars rises at 6:05 a.m. at midweek, followed by Mercury at 6:40 a.m. A very thin waning crescent moon will be between the two planets on Thursday morning.
In space anniversaries this week, Wednesday February 7 marks 25 years since the launch of the Stardust mission to collect dust samples from the comet Wild 2. The spacecraft also flew past asteroid 5535 Annefrank and the Comet Tempel 1 before the mission ended in March 2011. Stardust’s sample return capsule landed in the Utah desert in 2006 making the mission the first to bring particles from a comet to the Earth for study.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights currently 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.
Public viewing at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall is on Friday and Saturday nights currently 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. 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 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.
