Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday June 27th through Monday July 4th.
The moon is new late on Tuesday night for Austin’s time zone, so we’ll have a waning crescent moon at the beginning of the week and a waxing crescent moon in our early evening skies for the remainder of the week.
This will probably the be final week you can catch all of the major planets in our morning skies before Mercury goes into conjunction with the Sun. Saturn is rising at 11:15 p.m., followed by Neptune at 12:45 a.m. although you’ll need a small-to-medium sized telescope to see Neptune. Jupiter rises at 1:20 a.m., followed by Mars at 2:15 a.m. and Uranus an hour later, although you’ll need binoculars or a small telescope to see Uranus. Venus is rising at 4:30 a.m. and then Mercury rises at 5:20 a.m., still over an hour before sunrise.
The earth is at aphelion, its farthest point from the sun, on Monday July 4th when we’ll be 152.1 million kilometers or 94.5 million miles away from the Sun. Compare that to 147.1 million kilometers or 91.4 million miles, at its closest in January.
In space anniversaries this week, Monday July 4th marks 25 years since the Mars Pathfinder mission landed on the Red Planet at a site later renamed Carl Sagan Memorial Station. Pathfinder was the first mission to land on Mars with an airbag system and included Sojourner, the first rover to explore the Martian surface. Although designed to operate for a month, Pathfinder and Sojourner operated for three months and the mission was officially terminated in March 1998 after several months of trying to re-establish communication with the mission.
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 and have a happy and safe Independence Day Holiday!
