Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday August 29 through Sunday September 4.
The moon is at first quarter on Saturday, so we’ll have a waxing crescent moon in our evening skies for most of this week.
Mercury is now moving back towards the sun after its greatest elongation last weekend and is setting at 8:55 p.m. at midweek.
Saturn is rising just a little before 7:00 p.m. at midweek and is over 20 degrees above the horizon by 9:00 p.m. Jupiter is rising at 9:05 p.m. at midweek and will be at opposition in three weeks. Mars is rising at 12:15 a.m. and will be at its best for this year in December.
Venus is rising a little after 6:00 a.m., about an hour before the sun so it will soon be lost in the sun’s glare as it heads towards its next solar conjunction in October.
In space anniversaries this week, Tuesday August 30 marks 10 years since the launch of the twin Van Allen Probes to study the Van Allen radiation belts that surround the Earth. The probes operated for 7 years until they ran out of fuel and are expected to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere in the next decade.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights currently from 8 to 10 p.m. 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.
Public viewing at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall is on Friday and Saturday nights from currently 8 to 10 p.m. Painter Hall is located on 24th street about halfway between Speedway and Guadalupe and is northeast of the UT Tower. Take the elevator to the 5th floor then take the stairs up to the 6th floor and follow the signs up to the telescope.
Please note that there will be no Painter Telescope viewing on Saturday evenings when the UT football team has a night home game. Logon to TexasSports.com to check the football schedule. The September 3 game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. so there will be no telescope viewing that night.
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.
