Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday April 18th through Sunday April 24th.
The full moon for April was late on Sunday the 17th in the US central time zone and will reach last quarter late on Sunday the 24, so we will have a waning gibbous moon this week.
Saturn is rising at 6:30 p.m. at midweek, so it will be fairly high in the east-southeast once the sky is dark after sunset.
Almost all of the other planets are clustered around the sun. Venus is rising at 5:30 a.m. and can be seen low in the east as morning twilight breaks. Uranus is about a degree away from Venus on Friday and Saturday. Mercury and Mars will be less than a degree apart at the beginning of this week, but may be difficult to see since they are rising just 45 minutes before the sun. Jupiter is coming out of conjunction and is rising less than half an hour before the sun this week.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights now from 8:30 to 10:30 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 nights at the 9 inch refractor at Painter Hall are on Friday and Saturday 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. To get to the telescope, take the elevator to the 5th floor and exit to the left. Follow the 5th floor hallway to the end and take the staircase through the double doors on the left. Once you reach the 6th floor, go to your right 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. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 232-4265 for weather cancellation information, which is updated 30 to 60 minutes before the scheduled viewing start time when a viewing is cancelled.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.
