Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Tuesday January 20th through Sunday January 25th.

The moon will be at first quarter very late on Sunday evening, so we’ll have a waxing crescent moon in the early evening skies all of this week.

Mercury is in superior conjunction with the sun on Wednesday the 21st when it will go behind the sun from the Earth’s point of view and will move from our morning skies into our evening skies.

Venus is still emerging from conjunction and continues to be lost in the sun’s glare.

Saturn is up in the southwest at sunset and is setting at 10:10 p.m. at midweek. Look for Saturn above and to the left of the Moon on Thursday night and below the moon on Friday night.

Jupiter is up in the east as the sky darkens after sunset and is setting at 6:40 a.m., so it is still visible for almost the whole night.

Mars is emerging from conjunction and is not visible in our skies.

In space anniversaries this week, Saturday January 24th marks 40 years since Voyager 2 became the first, and to this date only, spacecraft to visit the planet Uranus. The mission passed within 82,000 kilometers of the Uranus’ clouds and, in addition to imaging the planet’s faint rings and largest moons, it also discovered 10 new moons. After exiting the Uranian system, Voyager 2 continued on to become the first spacecraft to visit Neptune, which occurred in August 1989.

Public viewing at the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights 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 up the stairs to the telescope.

Public viewing at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall is on Friday and Saturday nights 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.

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.