Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers' Report for Monday November 3rd through Sunday November 9th.
The moon is at first quarter on Thursday morning, so we will have a waxing crescent moon for the first half of the week and a waxing gibbous moon for the second half. Look for Jupiter next to the moon on Monday night.
Venus is in the southwest this week and is setting around 8 p.m. Jupiter is higher and to the left of Venus and is setting around 10 p.m. this week. Mars is currently very close to the sun. In the morning skies, Saturn is rising at 2:45 a.m. and Mercury is up about an hour before the sun.
As we head further into fall, some familiar objects are returning to our early evening skies. The open star clusters of the Pleiades and Hyades in Taurus are up fairly high in the east by 9 p.m. now and the winter constellation of Orion the Hunter is above the horizon by 10 p.m. On the other side of the sky, the summer constellation of Sagitarrius is low in the southwest as darkness falls.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of Robert Lee Moore Hall is on Wednesday nights now from 7 to 9 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 now from 7 to 9 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.
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.
