Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday October 10th through Sunday October 16th.
The full moon for the month of October is late on the night of Tuesday the 11th. This full moon is known as the Hunter's Moon or the Dying Grass Moon. This full moon also occurs very close to apogee, when the moon is at its farthest point from the earth in its orbit, and it will be the smallest full moon of the year.
Three planets are currently clustered around the sun, making them all difficult to see. Mercury and Venus are slowly moving away from the sun and will be easier to see in our early evening skies as the month progresses. Saturn is in conjunction with the sun on the 13th and will move in to the morning skies.
Jupiter is rising a little before 8 p.m. at midweek and is visible for the rest of the night. Look for the moon and Jupiter together on the night of Thursday the 13th. Mars is up at 2:30 a.m. at midweek.
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 mackbrown-texasfootball.com.
All events are free and open to all ages and no reservations are required. Note that viewing times and availability change throughout the year. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 232-4265 for weather cancellation information, which is updated 30 to 60 minutes before the scheduled viewing start time when a viewing is cancelled.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.
