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McDonald Observatory

McDonald Observatory, a research unit of The University of Texas at Austin, is one of the world’s leading centers for astronomical research, teaching, and public education and outreach. Observatory facilities are located atop Mount Locke and Mount Fowlkes in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, which offer some of the darkest night skies in the continental United States.

Resources

Astronomers and Observatories June 10, 2010

Publicly Accessible Telescope Viewing May 14, 2010

Featured Images

Twilight over McDonald Observatory

A Civil Sky June 18, 2017
Evening view of Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory

A New Era April 9, 2017
Sunset over the Davis Mountains

Earliest Sunsets December 1, 2016
Sandy Wood and Sandi Preston

Celebrating the Sandi/ys July 4, 2016
Artist's concept of a young Jupiter-like planet

Young Giant August 27, 2015
Otto Struve, first director of McDonald Observatory

First Director May 8, 2014
Autographs from the dedication of McDonald Observatory

Who's Who May 7, 2014
Construction of McDonald Observatory's 82-inch telescope, ca. 1934

Celebrating May 6, 2014
Participants in the McDonald Observatory dedication, May 5, 1939

Getting Started May 5, 2014
Diagram showing the layouts of several exoplanet systems

Going Farther April 30, 2014
Artist's concept of a range of recently discovered exoplanets

Planet Hunting April 28, 2014
A discharge of energy from the Z Machine at Sandia National Laboratories

Zapped! February 3, 2014
An early view of the primary mirror of McDonald Observatory's first telescope

Seeing the Light December 31, 2013
Technicians replace equipment for HETDEX at McDonald Observatory

On (and Off) Track November 4, 2013
Artist's concept of the Gamma Cephei star system

Stellar Geometry September 4, 2012
Horsehead Nebula photographed through a McDonald Observatory telescope

3D Horsehead December 20, 2011
Artist's concept of upgraded Hobby-Eberly Telescope

Facelift for Science June 3, 2011
Primary mirror of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, McDonald Observatory

A Big Bottle of Windex? May 11, 2011
Comet Hartley-2 from McDonald Observatory

Jolly Green Comet October 21, 2010
Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory

Searching the Darkness October 15, 2010

Radio Programs

Spying on Supernovae Keeping many eyes on exploding stars May 22, 2017

HETDEX A new look at ancient galaxies April 9, 2017

Dark Energy One of the great mysteries of the universe April 8, 2017

Giant Cannibal A giant star becomes a cannibal March 16, 2017

Super Supernovae Making a super-duper supernova January 16, 2017

NGC 1600 A plain galaxy with a dark heart December 14, 2016

War Work Soldiering through a war December 8, 2016

More Reionization An early light in the young universe November 4, 2016

Galactic Grid Plotting the galaxy and beyond August 30, 2016

The Great War, IV War changes an astronomer’s destiny May 12, 2016

Robotic Telescopes Robots take over the telescopes April 26, 2016

Moon and Aldebaran Patiently watching the bull’s eye October 29, 2015

Hot Planet A world you wouldn’t want to visit October 12, 2015

Hunting Planets IV Patiently looking for planets August 28, 2015

Hunting Planets III Looking for big, cold planets August 27, 2015

Hunting Planets II More nights hunting for planets August 26, 2015

Hunting Planets Getting ready to hunt planets August 25, 2015

Changing Seasons Changing seasons on a cold world November 10, 2014

Cloudy Skies Cloudy skies on a cold moon November 9, 2014

Different Explosions Exploding stars with a difference July 18, 2014

Zombie Stars The night of the living dead stars July 16, 2014

McDonald at 75, V Studying the mysteries of the universe May 8, 2014

McDonald at 75, IV Probing the mysteries of the stars May 7, 2014

McDonald at 75, III Collaboration in the name of science May 6, 2014

McDonald at 75, II Lawsuits, recruitment, and stars May 5, 2014

McDonald at 75 The start of a scientific adventure May 4, 2014

Distant Planets IV Young planets on the move April 30, 2014

Distant Planets III A giant planet near the head of the water snake April 29, 2014

Distant Planets II A patient search for distant planets April 28, 2014

Distant Planets Looking for hard-to-find planets April 27, 2014

Pollux A “wobbly” planetary discovery March 1, 2014

Z Machine IV Astronomy in a test tube February 5, 2014

Z Machine III Making a star in a bottle February 4, 2014

Getting Started Cooking up a piece of glass December 30, 2013

HETDEX Update An upgrade for dark energy November 3, 2013

A New Start An observatory gets a new start September 2, 2013

Changing Directions A change of direction for McDonald Observatory September 1, 2013

Solar Twins II Hunting for worlds like Earth June 1, 2013

Keeping Tabs Keeping an eye on a fuzzy foot May 7, 2013

Recalibrating Recalibrating a space telescope May 6, 2013

Small Black Holes Looking for tiny black holes February 24, 2013

First Steps Angling in on the stars December 4, 2012

RR Lyrae The rhythmic beat of a star December 3, 2012

‘Titanic’ Discoveries A big moon keeps its secrets November 18, 2012

Gamma Cephei IV Getting messy for science September 4, 2012

Gamma Cephei III Keeping a planet on the table September 3, 2012

Gamma Cephei II A gnat’s eyelash and a distant planet September 2, 2012

Giant Magellan Telescope A new “giant” eye on the universe May 13, 2012

Humid Skies Measuring the humidity on a cold world May 4, 2012

Star in a Bottle Making a bottleful of starstuff April 12, 2012

White Dwarf Quakes Stars that “quake” in the night April 10, 2012

Record Breaker An unprecedented sphere of darkness February 5, 2012