Posts by McDonald Observatory
October 19, 2026
Five Area Businesses Join Effort to Preserve Our Night Sky
For many visitors to Far West Texas, the stars above are as much an attraction as the rugged landscape below. In an effort to preserve this natural resource, five businesses in the local hospitality industry are among the latest to […]
October 7, 2026
McDonald Helps Lead NASA Mission to Study the Dust Between Stars
NASA is building a small space telescope specializing in detecting polarization in ultraviolet light from distant stars. From its vantage point in low-Earth orbit, the instrument – dubbed PUFFINS – will stare at a minimum of 70 stars to analyze […]
September 28, 2026
UT Astronomer Selected for Frontiers of Research Project
Caroline Morley, associate professor of astronomy in the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin, and her research team recently were among a dozen groups worldwide selected by the Simons Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports […]
August 31, 2026
UT Austin Astronomers to Play Leading Role in NASA’s Newly Launched Roman Space Telescope
On August 30, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifted off from Kennedy Space Center. Named for NASA’s first chief astronomer, Roman carries a mirror the size of Hubble’s but captures a field of view about 100 times wider, letting […]
August 5, 2026
Astronomers Catch Massive Star’s Death from the First Explosive Moment
A rare cosmic explosion has given astronomers an unprecedented view of a massive star in its final moments, revealing a previously missing link between ordinary supernovae and the most energetic explosions in the universe. In March 2026, the Einstein Probe […]
July 27, 2026
2026 Board of Visitors Summer Meeting Provides Front Row Seat to the Cosmos
July 10-11, 2026, marked another exciting Board of Visitors meeting at McDonald Observatory. Thanks to everyone who made the trip to West Texas to join us. This year’s event included: Talks on topics ranging from supernovae to white dwarfs to […]
July 20, 2026
One Idea, Two Cosmic Mysteries: Linking Little Red Dots and Globular Clusters
A new study led by astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin proposes a theory that could solve two astronomical riddles at once. That is, the nature of Little Red Dots and the origin of globular clusters. Rather than […]
July 7, 2026
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute Increases Investment in Giant Magellan Telescope
The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to the Giant Magellan Telescope through a new investment that brings its total contribution to nearly $110 million (USD), strengthening the Republic of Korea’s leadership as the […]
June 30, 2026
Nearby “Super Earth” May Be a Better Candidate for Life Than Previously Thought
Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet and discovered it may be more Earth-like than previously thought. The planet, known as GJ 3378b, orbits a small, cool star called a […]
June 10, 2026
UT Astronomers Find Strongest Evidence Yet for ‘Black Hole Stars’
The complex puzzle known as little red dots has become more complete since their initial discovery by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022. Now a particular little red dot’s spectrum is helping connect many of the pieces. A team […]
June 3, 2026
HETDEX Opens Massive Cosmic Dataset to Scientists, Novices, and AI
Today, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) – which recently completed the largest survey ever taken of the early universe – has released all of its immense, information-rich database to the public. Built from more than half a petabyte of raw […]
May 4, 2026
IGRINS Confirms Link Between the Composition of Exoplanets and Their Stars
Almost 320 light-years away in the Libra constellation lies WASP-189b, an exoplanet known as an ultra-hot Jupiter. Such planets have temperatures high enough to vaporize rock-forming elements like magnesium, silicon, and iron, offering a rare opportunity to see these elements using spectroscopy […]
April 17, 2026
Little Red Dots: New Clues from the Early Universe
The launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in 2021 pushed the horizon of seeing the early universe, unveiling cosmic events just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. Among the most striking discoveries are supermassive black […]
April 5, 2026
Astronomers Thought the Early Universe Was Full of Hydrogen. Now They’ve Found It.
Astronomers using data from the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) have discovered tens of thousands of gigantic hydrogen gas halos, called “Lyman-alpha nebulae,” surrounding galaxies 10 billion to 12 billion years ago. Known as Cosmic Noon, this is an epoch in […]
March 30, 2026
2026 Board of Visitors Winter Meeting Shares Cutting-Edge Science
The Department of Astronomy and McDonald Observatory welcomed the Board of Visitors to The University of Texas at Austin campus on March 6-7 for its annual winter meeting. Over the course of two days, 130 BOV members joined science leaders, […]