Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report for August 29th through September 5th.
The new moon for the month of September is on Saturday the 3rd. The moon will be near the morning planets in the east in the first few days of the week. It will be about 5 degrees from Saturn on the 31st. The moon will emerge in the evening skies by Labor Day.
Venus and Jupiter are the two bright objects visible in the western skies in the early evening hours. At the start of the week, Venus is the lower and brighter of the pair, with Jupiter to the upper left. The two planets have been moving together over the past couple of weeks and will reach their closest point on September 1st. The two will be side-by-side on the 3rd and after that Venus will be the left-most and slightly higher of the pair.
Mars is rising at about 11:15 p.m. at mid-week. The Red Planet is now at magnitude -1, making it almost as bright as Sirius, the brightest star outside our solar system.
Public viewing is finished for the summer session. Fall viewing will resume in September. Please check back next week for starting dates and times and information on locations.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report and have a happy and safe Labor Day Weekend.
