Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday April 30th through Sunday May 6th.
The moon was full late on Sunday April 29th for the US central time zone and will be at last quarter on late on Monday May 7th, so we'll have a waning gibbous moon for all of this week.
Venus continues to appear a little higher in the west each evening and is setting at 10:20 p.m. this week.
Jupiter rises in the east-southeast at 8:30 p.m. at midweek and is now visible for almost the entire night.
Later in the evening, Saturn is rising at 12:15 a.m. Look for Saturn below the moon in the early hours of Friday the 4th and above the moon in the morning hours of the 5th.
Mars is rising at 1:20 a.m. this week and is now at magnitude -0.5. Mars continues to grow in brightness and angular size as our two planets move closer to one another. Mars will be to the right of the Moon in the early morning hours of Sunday the 6th.
Mercury is rising at 5:40 a.m., a little over an hour before sunrise.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights currently 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 at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall is on Friday and Saturday nights currently 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.
This week will be the final week of viewing on UT campus telescopes for the spring semester. Summer semester viewing will start in mid-June.
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.
