Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday October 6th through Sunday October 12th.
The full moon for the month of October is late on Monday the 6th and then we’ll have a waning gibbous moon for the remainder of the week. This full moon is known as the Dying Grass Moon, the Hunter’s Moon, and as the full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox, it is this year’s Harvest Moon.
Mercury continues to emerge from the evening twilight and will continue to move away from the sun throughout the month. Mercury is setting at 7:55 p.m. at midweek, about 45 minutes after the sun.
Mars is a little above and to the left of Mercury in the west-southwest at sunset and is setting at 10:20 p.m.
Saturn is now up in the east-southeast as the sky darkens after sunset and is setting at 6:05 a.m. at midweek.
Jupiter is rising at 1 a.m. and Venus is rising at 5:50 a.m., an hour and 40 minutes before the sun.
In space anniversaries this week, Monday October 6 marks 35 years since the launch of the Ulysses solar orbiter on board the Space Shuttle Discovery. The Ulysses mission was designed to orbit the sun at all latitudes, so it required a gravity assist from Jupiter in order to pick up enough speed to change to a polar solar orbit. During its nearly 20 year mission, Ulysses made three close passes to the sun, two distant passes of Jupiter, and passed through the tails of three comets. The spacecraft was decommissioned in July 2009, and it remains in a heliocentric orbit.
Public viewing at 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 currently from 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.
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 star party status information, which is updated 30 to 45 minutes before the scheduled viewing start times.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.
