Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday April 11th through Sunday April 17th.
The full moon for the month of April is on Saturday the 16th so we’ll have a waxing gibbous moon for most of the week and start into the waning gibbous phase on Sunday. This full moon is known as the Egg Moon and the Grass Moon.
Mercury is moving away from the sun after conjunction a few weeks ago and will be setting an hour after the sun by midweek.
In the morning skies, Saturn is rising at 4:15 a.m., followed by Mars at 4:35 a.m., Venus at 5:00 a.m., and Jupiter at 5:45 a.m. These four planets will appear to be in a line and will trace out the plane of our solar system.
In space anniversaries this week, Saturday April 16th marks 50 years since the launch of the Apollo 16 mission to the moon. The mission commander was John Young, who would later fly the first space shuttle mission, the lunar module pilot was Charlie Duke, and the command module pilot was Ken Mattingly, who had originally been scheduled to fly on Apollo 13 but was rescheduled a few days before launch due to an exposure to rubella. The lunar module, nicknamed Orion, landed on the Moon on April 20th (Houston time) and the Young and Duke spent nearly three full days on the lunar surface. This mission included a Lunar Roving vehicle that the astronauts drove over 16 and a half miles on excursions from the landing site. After returning to lunar orbit, Young and Duke docked with Mattingly and the command module, and the mission safely returned to Earth on April 27th where they were retrieved by the USS Ticonderoga.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building (formerly RLM) 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 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.
