Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday November 3rd through Sunday the 9th.
The full moon for the month of November is on Thursday the 6th, so we'll start the week with a waxing gibbous moon and finish with a waning gibbous moon. This full moon is known as the Frost Moon and the Snow Moon.
Venus is still slowly moving away from the sun in the early evening skies, but is still lost in the twilight since it is setting just 15 minutes after the sun.
Saturn is moving towards the Sun as it heads towards conjunction in a couple of weeks. Saturn is setting just 40 minutes after sunset.
Mars is still in the southwestern skies at sunset and is setting at 9:05 p.m.
Jupiter is now rising at 12:25 a.m. as it slowly works its way back into our early evening skies.
Mercury is still in a good place to be spotted if you have a good view of the eastern horizon before dawn. Mercury is rising almost an hour and a half before the sun at midweek.
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 from 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. Please note that there will be no Painter Telescope viewing on Saturday evenings when the UT football team has a night home game. To check the football schedule, logon to texassports.com.
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.
