Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday October 21 through Sunday October 27.
The moon is at third quarter late on Wednesday the 23rd, so we’ll start the week with a waning gibbous moon and finish with a waning crescent moon in the pre-dawn skies.
Mercury is very low in the west-southwest and is setting about 40 minutes after the sun at midweek.
Venus is up in the southwest at sunset and is setting at 8:45 p.m. at midweek.
Saturn is high in the southeast as the sky darkens after sunset and is setting at 4:00 a.m.
Jupiter is rising at 9:35 p.m. at midweek and then is visible for the remainder of the night. Jupiter was next to the moon in the early hours before dawn on Monday.
Mars is rising at 12:15 a.m. as it moves towards closest approach to Earth in early 2025. Look for Mars off the limb of the moon on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
In space anniversaries this week, Wednesday October 23 marks 30 since the Space Shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth after successfully deploying the Galileo Spacecraft, the first mission to orbit Jupiter. Atlantis launched on October 18 and released Galileo about 8 hours after reaching orbit to begin its mission to Jupiter. Galileo left Earth and then first flew past Venus for a gravity assist, then returned to Earth twice for additional boosts before continuing on to the outer solar system. Galileo then flew past main belt asteroids Gaspra and Ida where it discovered Ida’s moon that was named Dactyl. The spacecraft finally arrived at Jupiter and entered orbit on December 8, 1995, where it operated for nearly 8 years before being deliberately crashed into the gas giant after running out of fuel and to avoid a potential impact and contamination of Jupiter’s moon Europa, an object of astrobiological interest.
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 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 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.
