Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday October 17 through Sunday October 23.
The moon is at third quarter on Monday afternoon and then we’ll have a waning crescent moon for the remainder of the week.
Venus is in superior conjunction with the sun on Saturday when it will pass behind the sun from the Earth’s perspective. After conjunction, Venus will slowly begin to emerge into our evening skies, low in the west after sunset.
Saturn is high in the south at 9 p.m. this week and sets at 2:25 a.m. at midweek. Jupiter is high in the southeast by 9 p.m. and is still visible most of the night. Mars is rising at 10:10 p.m. at midweek and is now at magnitude -1 and has grown to nearly 14 arcseconds in size.
In the morning skies, Mercury is moving back towards the sun and is rising about an hour before sunrise.
The Orionid meteor shower peaks on Friday night and this year’s shower won’t have much interference from moonlight. The shower gets its name because the meteors appear to come from a point in the constellation Orion, which will be fully above the horizon by midnight. The shower is created by the Earth passing through the debris of Halley’s Comet and usually produces about 20 meteors an hour.
In space anniversaries this week, Tuesday October 18 marks 55 years since the Soviet Venera 4 became the first spacecraft to survive entry through another planet’s atmosphere when it made it to the surface of Venus after a 93 minute descent. The probe was not designed for a soft landing, so it had a hard impact on the surface. The first soft landing would be with the Venera 7 spacecraft four years later.
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.
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.
