Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday March 30th through Sunday April 5th.

The full moon for the month of April is late in the evening of Wednesday April 1, so we’ll have a waxing gibbous moon early in the week and a waning gibbous moon for the rest of the week. This full moon is known as the Egg Moon, the Pink Moon, and the Grass Moon.

Venus continues to be visible for an increasingly longer amount of time in our evening skies as it moves away from the sun after its last conjunction, so it’s getting easy to spot in the west after sunset. Venus is setting at 9:25 p.m. at midweek.

Jupiter is high overhead as the sky darkens after sunset and is setting at 3:00 a.m.

In the morning skies, four planets are converging in the predawn sky, although two of them are too close to the sun to see this week. Mercury is rising at 6:10 a.m. this week and will be at greatest elongation on Friday morning. Mars follows at 6:30 a.m. and then Neptune and Saturn will be rising shortly before sunrise as they come out from behind the sun after conjunction.

In space anniversaries this week, Tuesday March 31 marks 60 years since the launch of the Soviet Luna 10 mission that became the first spacecraft to orbit the moon. Luna 10 orbited the moon for two months and gathered data on the lunar magnetic field, the nature of lunar rocks, and discovered the first evidence of subsurface mass concentrations that produce gravity anomalies that can distort lunar orbits. Last contact with the spacecraft was on May 30, 1966, and it eventually crashed into the lunar surface.

Public viewing at the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights currently from 8:30 to 10:30 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 8:30 to 10:30 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 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.