![]() Accurate information for opening hours and tours can be found at mcdonaldobservatory. Bring a jacket, since the mountain air cools quickly.Ī gift shop featuring astronomy related merchandise and the StarDate Cafe are located in the visitor’s center. The observatory is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. McDonald Observatory was incredible If you can go for a star party, do it as you get to learn about constellations and look through some of the smaller. (reservations are required) A star party showcases interesting stars, planets and other astronomical objects including live views through telescopes from 8 to 24 inches in size. ![]() The observatory has evening Star Parties on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays which are led by knowledgeable staffers. ![]() (reservations are strongly encouraged) Daily tours follow Solar Viewing. Solar Viewing sessions are conducted twice daily at 11am and 2pm. Self-guided tours are possible from 10am to 5:30pm. Operated by the University of Texas at Austin, the observatory has several large research telescopes and hosts astronomers from around the world. The observatory is located just 17 miles from Fort Davis on Texas Highway 118 and under one of the darkest night skies of any major observatory in the continental United States. Smith and 82″ Otto Struve telescopes located on 6,800-foot Mt. Support for the Bullock Museum's exhibitions and education programs provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.The observatory’s three largest instruments are the 362″ Hobby-Eberly telescope on 6,600-foot Mount Fowlkes, the 107″ Harlan J. The observatory demonstrates how astronomers use spectroscopy to chart the heavens and offers solar viewings and star. Blue Moons are rare because the Moon is full every 29 and a half days, so the timing has to be just right to squeeze two full Moons into a calendar month. This exhibition was made possible by Sophia and G. On average, theres a Blue Moon about every 33 months. Locke the perfect place for viewing the night sky.Ī compelling and easily accessible website and blog hosted by UT, as well as programming that included a series of "space days" at the Museum during exhibition were some of the educational offerings featured as part of the Observatory's year-long series of celebrations around Texas that began September 1, 2013, and ran through August, 2014. The exhibition also discussed the support of the Fort Davis community that makes Mt. The telescope model, along with other equipment from the observatory, was featured with the stories of modern discoveries like the search for Dark Energy, bouncing lasers off of the moon, and discovering the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan. The East Texas Historical Journal is a publication of. Unique artifacts related to astronomy from the McDonald Observatory collection, such as a giant mirrored panel of the reflective surface that makes a telescope function, were also featured.Ī 1,000 pound scale model of the Otto Struve telescope from the 1930s was on loan from the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. Cooperative Science: Origins of the William Johnson McDonald. Locke and Fowlkes near Fort Davis in West Texas. This 75th anniversary exhibition featured amazing night-sky images as seen from one of the darkest places on the planet, high atop Mts.
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