Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Tuesday September 2nd through Sunday September 7th.
The moon is at first quarter on Tuesday the 2nd and won't reach full until early next week, so we'll have a waxing gibbous moon in the evening skies all of this week.
Mercury is low in the west at sunset and is setting about an hour after the sun this week.
Mars and Saturn are still close to one another low in the southwest at sunset and continue to gradually move away from one another. Saturn is setting at 11:05 p.m. at midweek, followed by Mars about 10 minutes later.
In the morning skies, Jupiter is rising at 4:45 a.m. at midweek, giving early risers a little time to observe it before the beginning of morning twilight. Venus continues to sink towards the sun and is up about an hour before sunrise. Look for it very close to the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo in the later part of the week.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights currently from 8 to 10 p.m. RLM 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. To get to the telescope, take the elevator to the 5th floor and exit to the left. Follow the 5th floor hallway to the end and take the staircase through the double doors on the left. Once you reach the 6th floor, go to your right 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. To check the football schedule, logon to texassports.com. The football game for September 6th is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m., so there will be no viewing that evening.
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.
