Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report for September 22nd through the 28th.
The moon will be new late on the night of Thursday the 25th.
The autumnal equinox occurs at 5:47 a.m. central daylight time on Tuesday the 23rd. The autumnal equinox is the point where the sun crosses the celestial equator from the north to the south. From now until the vernal equinox the nights will be longer than the days for the northern hemisphere.
Over the past weekend, the Galileo spacecraft, which had been in orbit around Jupiter since 1995 ended its mission by plummeting into the gas giant's atmosphere a little before 2:00 p.m. central time on Sunday. The last signal was received from the spacecraft about 45 minutes later due to the time it takes for it to travel from Jupiter to Earth. A history of the mission and an archive of images is available at galileo.jpl.nasa.gov
For more skywatching tips for the week check out stardate.org
The telescope at Robert Lee Moore Hall is open to the public on Wednesday nights starting at 8:00 p.m. RLM is located on the southeast corner of Dean Keeton and Speedway. Take the elevators to the 17th floor and follow the signs to the telescope.
The telescope at Painter hall is open on Fridays for UT students, faculty and staff and Saturdays are open for the general public, both currently running from 9 to 11 p.m. Painter Hall is located on 24th street about half way between Speedway and Guadalupe.
All events are free and open to all ages and no reservations are required. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 232-4265 for up-to-date cancellation information.
Please note that star party times change throughout the year. Please call this recording to check times before planning a visit to the telescopes.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report.
