Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday June 6th through Sunday June 12th.
The moon is at first quarter on Tuesday the 7th so we’ll start the week with a waxing crescent moon on Monday and then have a waxing gibbous moon for the remainder of the week.
Now that Mercury is emerging from the dawn twilight, you can potentially see all of the major planets of our solar system with your eyes and a telescope. Saturn rises at 12:45 a.m. followed by Neptune at 2:10 a.m., although you will need a small telescope and a finder chart to see Neptune. Jupiter follows at 2:35 a.m. with Mars rising 20 minutes later. Venus and Uranus are close to one another and rising at about 4:30 a.m., but you’ll need binoculars to see Uranus. Mercury rounds out the bunch, rising at 5:25 a.m., a little over an hour before the sun.
In space anniversaries this week, Tuesday June 7th marks 30 years since the launch of the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer space-based telescope designed to explore the far UV parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. The mission performed an all-sky survey of the extreme UV as well as a deep survey and other targeted observations. The satellite was deactivated in January 2001 and re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere over Egypt a year later.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. this summer. 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.
There will be no public viewing at the Painter Hall Telescope this summer. Friday and Saturday night viewing at Painter Hall will resume in the fall semester.
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.
