Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday August 12 through Sunday August 18.
The moon is at first quarter on Monday the 12th and then won’t reach full until next Monday, so we’ll have a waxing gibbous moon in our evening skies all week.
Mercury is now too close to the Sun to see as it heads towards solar conjunction early next week.
Venus is visible low very low in the west after sunset and is setting about an hour after the sun.
Over in the east, Saturn rises at 9:20 p.m. at midweek, a little over an hour after sunset.
Jupiter and Mars have been moving closer to one another in the pre-dawn skies and will be about half a degree apart on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Both planets will be rising at 2 a.m. at midweek.
In space anniversaries this week, Sunday August 18 marks 35 years since the launch of USA-42, the third satellite of the first full-scale operational GPS satellite system. USA-42 was deactivated in 2000 as the earlier GPS satellites were eventually replaced by newer ones.
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.
This week will be the final week of public viewing at PMA for the summer 2024 session. Fall semester viewing will start in early September.
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.
