Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday October 26th through Sunday November 1st.
The full moon for the month of October is late on the night of Sunday the 25th or early in the morning hours of Monday the 26th, depending on your time zone, and then we’ll have a waning gibbous moon for the rest of the week. This full moon is known as the Dying Grass Moon, the Hunter’s Moon and the Falling Leaves Moon.
Mercury is sinking back towards the sun and its next conjunction and is setting at 7:15 p.m. at midweek, about 30 minutes after sunset.
Saturn is up in the east-southeast at nightfall and is setting at 5:45 a.m. at midweek, now about two hours before sunrise.
Mars is rising at 1:35 a.m. at midweek and Jupiter follows 35 minutes later as the two planets continue to move towards their close approach to one another in mid-November.
Venus is emerging from conjunction in the morning skies and is rising about 30 minutes before sunrise.
Daylight saving time ends early on the morning of Sunday November 1 when we will repeat the 1:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. hour and return to Standard Time.
In space anniversaries this week, Monday October 26th marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of the twin STEREO spacecraft on a mission to study the Sun. The positions of the two spacecraft created stereoscopic images of solar phenomena, and their orbit gradually took them to points on opposite sides of the Sun to create our first complete view of the sun at one moment in time. Contact with STEREO-B was lost a decade ago, but STEREO-A is still operational.
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. There will be no viewing at Painter Hall on Saturday October 31st due to the night home football game.
Starting next week, all campus public viewing times will move to 7 to 9 p.m. after the return to standard time this weekend.
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.
