Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday October 24th through Sunday October 30th.
The new moon for the month of October is on Tuesday the 25th and then we’ll have a waxing crescent moon in the early evening skies for the remainder of the week. With this new moon, all of Europe and parts of northern Africa and western Asia will see a partial solar eclipse.
Venus is emerging from last week’s conjunction and is too close to the sun to see.
Saturn is still high in the south at 9:00 p.m. this week and is setting at 2:00 a.m. Jupiter is up in the southeast at 9:00 p.m. and is setting at 5:10 a.m., so it is still visible most of the night.
Mars is rising at 9:45 p.m. and continues to grow in apparent size and brightness as our two planets move closer to one another. Mars is at magnitude -1.1 and 14.7 arcseconds in size this week.
Mercury is heading towards solar conjunction and is rising about 35 minutes before the sun at midweek.
In space anniversaries this week, Thursday October 27 marks 50 years since the end of the Mariner 9 mission to Mars. Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet when it arrived at the Red Planet in November 1971, and it operated until it ran out of control fuel. It is unknown for sure whether the spacecraft is still in orbit around Mars or has burned up in the Martian atmosphere.
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.
