Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday March 10th through Sunday March 16th.

The moon is full early on the morning of Friday March 14 for Austin, so we’ll have a waxing gibbous moon for the first part of the week and a waning gibbous moon for the weekend. This full moon is known as the Sap Moon, Worm Moon, and the Lenten Moon.

And with this full moon, much of the planet will see a lunar eclipse including here in Texas. For Austin, the moon will enter the penumbra of the Earth’s shadow just before 11 p.m. on Thursday March 13th and then will enter the umbra just after midnight. The total eclipse phase starts at 1:26 a.m. and will end at 2:31 a.m. The moon will exit the umbra at 3:47 a.m. and the entire eclipse will end in Austin at 5 a.m. on the morning of Friday March 14th.

Saturn is in solar conjunction on Wednesday the 10th and then will slowly emerge into our morning skies over the next month.

Mercury and Venus are both low in the west at sunset as they both move towards solar conjunction in the next couple of weeks. Both planets are setting around 8:50 p.m. at midweek.

Jupiter is high in the southwest as the sky darkens after sunset and is setting at 1:50 a.m.

Mars is high in the southeast in the early evenings and is setting at 4:35 a.m.

Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building is on Wednesday nights now 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.

There will be no viewing at the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building on March 19 during Spring Break.

Additionally, there will be no viewing at the Painter Hall telescope on March 14 &15 and March 21 & 22 over Spring Break.

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.