Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report for February 19th to the 25th.
The new moon for the month of February is early in the morning hours of Friday the 23rd.
On Thursday night, Venus will be at its brightest magnitude at 4.6 Venus is the very bright object high in the west at sunset.
Jupiter and Saturn are high overhead at sunset in the constellation of Taurus the Bull.
The 2001 Board of Visitors Great Lectures in Astronomy talk will be on Saturday the 24th at 1:15 p.m. and is open to the public. The lecture will be presented by Professor John Kormendy and the topic will be "Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei". This year's talk will be held in the Main Dining Room on the second level of the UT Faculty Center. The Faculty Center is located on the corner of 25th and Guadalupe and there will be free parking one block away in the parking garage at 25th and San Antonio.
The telescope at Robert Lee Moore hall is open to the public on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. The building is located on the southeast corner of 26th and Speedway. Take the elevator to the 17th floor and follow the signs to the telescope.
The telescope at Painter hall is open on Fridays for UT students, faculty and staff from 7 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays are open to the general public from 7 to 9 p.m. Painter Hall is located on 24th street about half way between Speedway and Guadalupe.
All events are free and open to all ages and no reservations are required. Observing events are weather permitting.
