Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday July 29 through Sunday August 4.
The moon is new on Sunday August 4th, so we’ll have a waning crescent moon in the early morning skies all of this week.
Venus is still low in the west at sunset and is setting at 9:20 p.m. at midweek, now almost an hour after sunset.
Mercury is sinking back towards the sun after last week’s greatest elongation and is setting at 9:25 p.m. at midweek.
Over in the east, Saturn is rising at 10:20 p.m. and is now just over a month away from opposition.
Mars is rising at 2:20 a.m. and will be near the waning crescent moon on Tuesday morning.
Jupiter is rising at 2:50 a.m. and will be near the moon on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
In space anniversaries this week, Wednesday July 31 marks 55 years since Mariner 6 flew past the planet Mars, passing a little over 2000 miles above the planet’s surface, improving on the 6000-mile distance of Mariner 4 in 1965. Mariner 6 was decommissioned in December 1970 remains in a heliocentric orbit.
And Saturday August 3 marks 20 years since the launch of MESSENGER, which would become the first probe to orbit the planet Mercury in March 2011. MESSENGER orbited and photographed the innermost planet for over four years before it was intentionally crashed into Mercury with the last of its propellant.
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.
