Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday May 2nd through Sunday May 8th.
The moon was new on April 30th and will reach first quarter late on Sunday the 8th so we’ll have a waxing crescent moon in the early evening skies all week.
Mercury passed greatest elongation last week and it now moving back towards the sun, although it is still setting about an hour and a half after sunset so you can still probably pick it out with a clear view of the western horizon in the evening. Look for a very thin crescent moon above Mercury on Monday evening.
In the morning skies, Saturn is rising at 3:00 a.m. followed by Mars an hour later at 4:00 a.m. Jupiter is rising at 4:35 a.m. and Venus is sinking back towards the sun and is rising at 4:50 a.m.
The eta-Aquariid meteor shower peaks on the night of May 4th into the morning of the 5th and won’t have much interference from moonlight this year, so observers in dark skies can expect to see about 40 meteors an hour at the peak. The shower gets its name because the meteors appear to come from a point near the star eta-Aquarii in the constellation Aquarius and they are caused by the Earth moving through the debris of Halley’s Comet.
In space anniversaries this week, Saturday May 7th marks 30 years since the inaugural flight of the space shuttle Endeavour. The mission included several firsts for the shuttle program including the first (and still only) EVA with three astronauts, the first mission with 4 total EVAs, and the first shuttle landing to use a drogue chute. The mission landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on May 16th.
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.
This week will be the final week of public viewing on UT campus telescopes for the spring 2022 semester. Please check back in a few weeks for information on the summer viewing schedule.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.
