Queen Berenice spreads her tresses across the eastern sky this evening. They form a tight spray of faint stars known as Coma Berenices. The constellation is low in the east at nightfall, far to the left of the Moon.
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McDonald Observatory: Brain Motor
Click to visit our YouTube channel to view this new 15-minute video overview of McDonald Observatory. Narrated by StarDate's Sandy Wood, it discusses our history and the cutting-edge science happening here today.
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Craig Nance is New Observatory Superintendent
Craig Nance began his tenure as Superintendent of McDonald Observatory January 5. The Superintendent is the on-site manager of the Observatory.
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Ancient Solar System has 5 Earth-sized Planets
McDonald Observatory's Dr. William Cochran and colleagues have discovered a solar system similar to ours dating back to the dawn of our Milky Way galaxy. Five planets with sizes between Mercury and Venus orbit the Sun-like star Kepler-444.
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Black Hole Chokes on a Star
A small telescope at McDonald captured a bright flash that Craig Wheeler and colleagues followed up with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope and others. It turned out to be a black hole swallowing a star — and it's not going down easily.
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Fantastic New Photos!
We've just posted a lot of beautiful new images of McDonald in our gallery. The images by Ethan Tweedie Photography are available for personal use or by news media. Take a look!