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Pioneering Instrument Returns to McDonald Observatory

After nearly a decade of globetrotting research, a powerful astronomical instrument has returned home to The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory. The Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) was re-installed on the Observatory’s Harlan J. Smith Telescope on October 17 and expects to start scientific operations on December 10.

Now Accepting Applications for Summer Teacher Workshops

Applications are open for McDonald Observatory teacher professional development workshops. K-12 teachers are invited to join us in summer 2025 for hands-on classroom activities, telescope tours, discussions with resident researchers, and nighttime observations. Check out our offerings and apply before February 12, 2025.

Astronomers Discover Youngest Transiting Planet Ever

On November 20, astronomers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The University of Texas at Austin announced the discovery of the youngest planet ever found using the transit method. With this method, a planet is detected when it passes between its host star and the observer. The planet, named TIDYE-1b, is roughly the size of Jupiter and is an estimated 3 million years old. To put that age into perspective: If Earth were a 50-year-old person, TIDYE-1b would be a 2-week-old infant.

New Exhibit in Austin Features Hobby-Eberly Telescope

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope is a powerhouse of astronomical research. You can see it when you visit McDonald Observatory. And now, you can see it in Austin, Texas, too. A scale model of the telescope is featured in a new exhibit about it and its research. "Big Eye on Dark Skies: The Hobby-Eberly Telescope" is on view at Texas Science & Natural History Museum (formerly Texas Memorial Museum) now through spring 2025.

Frontier Fellows Tackle Humanity’s Biggest Question: Where Do We Come From?

This fall, The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Astronomy welcomes the inaugural class of postdoctoral fellows to its Cosmic Frontier Center. The Frontier Fellows will support the center, which launched earlier this year, in its mission to uncover the origins of galaxies in the universe through a combination of theoretical and observational astrophysics.