texas

Skywatchers Report


Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday February 26th through Sunday March 4th.

The moon is full on the night of Thursday March 1st and is the first of two full moons we will have this month. The full moon of March is known as the Sap Moon, the Worm Moon, and the Lenten Moon.

Mercury and Venus are emerging from conjunction from the sun and will be close together this week but are also still pretty close to the sun so the pairing will be hard to see.

Jupiter is rising at 11:55 p.m. at midweek as it begins to move back towards our evening skies. Mars is up at 2:05 a.m., followed by Saturn at 3:20 a.m.

The annual Explore UT open house is this Saturday, March 3rd from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The department of Astronomy will be hosting events on the roof of Robert Lee Moore Hall throughout the day, including safe solar viewing through small telescopes with solar filters. You can find out about all of the events on campus at exploreut.utexas.edu

Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights currently 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 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.