Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday November 18 through Sunday November 24.
The moon is at third quarter late on Friday night, so we’ll have a waning gibbous moon for the first part of the week and a waning crescent moon for the weekend.
Mercury is now moving back towards the sun after greatest elongation and is low in the west-southwest at sunset and setting at 6:45 p.m. at midweek.
Venus is in the southwest at sundown and is setting at 8:20 p.m. and is currently shining at magnitude -4.1.
Saturn is up in the south-southeast in the early evenings and is setting at 1:10 a.m.
Jupiter is rising at 6:35 p.m. and is now well-placed for viewing by 9:00 p.m.
Mars is rising at 10 p.m. at midweek and will be near the moon on Wednesday night.
In space anniversaries this week, Wednesday November 20 marks 20 years since the launch of the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer space observatory. Swift carries three telescopes, designed to study gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows in multiple wavelengths. Gamma-ray bursts are extremely energetic explosions in distant galaxies and were initially discovered by satellites in the 1960s that were designed to detect gamma-rays from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. To date, the spacecraft has detected over 1600 bursts and continues to operate in Low Earth Orbit – 20 years into a planned two-year mission.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights currently from 7 to 9 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 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. 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 on UT campus telescopes next week over fall break and the Thanksgiving holiday.
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.
