News Releases

2013

09 May 2013
Paul Shapiro Elected to Chair the American Physical Society Division of Astrophysics

23 April 2013
Texas House, Senate Honor McDonald Observatory for 75 Years of Excellence

23 January 2013
Sally Dodson-Robinson Wins Annie Jump Cannon Award

07 January 2013
Exocomets May be as Common as Exoplanets

2012

29 November 2012
Neal Evans Named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

28 November 2012
Texas Astronomers Measure Most Massive, Most Unusual Black Hole Using Hobby-Eberly Telescope

25 October 2012
The White Widow Model: A New Scenario for the Birth of Type Ia Supernovae

23 October 2012
World's Most Advanced Mirror for Giant Telescope Completed

18 October 2012
Orionid Meteor Shower to Peak Oct. 20-21

09 October 2012
CANDELS team discovers dusty galaxies at ancient epoch with Hubble Space Telescope; tracks build-up of star- and planet-forming material

11 September 2012
Astronomers measure largest-ever magnetic field around massive star, time its slow rotation as it drags around giant cloak of trapped particles

29 August 2012
NASA, Texas astronomers find first multi-planet system around a binary star

28 August 2012
Astronomers Test Einstein in a New Regime Using Pair of Burnt-Out Stars

28 June 2012
Eiichiro Komatsu shares $500,000 Gruber Cosmology Prize with WMAP satellite team, for fundamental discoveries on the age, make-up, shape, and origin of the universe

19 June 2012
High School Students Explore Astronomical Research, Social Media at McDonald Observatory

31 May 2012
Astronomers Probe 'Evaporating' Planet Around Nearby Star with Hobby-Eberly Telescope

03 May 2012
Miller Wins $20K Grand Prize for Undergraduate Research from University Co-Op

23 April 2012
University of Texas at Austin names McDonald Observatory science instrument for philanthropists George and Cynthia Mitchell

09 April 2012
Las Cumbres Telescope Sees First Light at McDonald Observatory

23 March 2012
Mountaintop Blast for Giant Magellan Telescope; Video Available

12 January 2012
Karl Gebhardt Honored by The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas

10 January 2012
Hubble Study Challenges 'Cosmic Fireworks' as Largest Driver of Galaxy Evolution

09 January 2012
Mirror Casting Event for the Giant Magellan Telescope on January 14

09 January 2012
New Instrument Peers Through the Heart of the Milky Way

2011

05 December 2011
Pair of Black Holes 'Weigh In' at 10 Billion Suns; Most Massive Yet

05 December 2011
NASA Mission, Texas Astronomers Collaborate to Find 'Goldilocks' Planet, Others

30 November 2011
Cosmic Explosion Explained Just in Time for Christmas; Texas-Korea Astronomical Partnership Contributes

08 November 2011
University of Texas at Austin Astronomer Sally Dodson-Robinson Receives Prestigious Career Grant from National Science Foundation

04 October 2011
University of Texas-led Team Discovers Unusual Multi-Planet System with NASA's Kepler Spacecraft

04 October 2011
University of Texas-led Team Discovers Unusual Multi-Planet System with NASA's Kepler Spacecraft

13 July 2011
Astronomers Discover Stars Locked in Fatalistic Dance

06 July 2011
Universo Radio Program to Cease Regular Production

30 June 2011
The New York Times Knowledge Network, Texas Education Agency, and McDonald Observatory Add Astronomy Content to Project Share Online Teachers Community

20 April 2011
Cascading Material Pours Onto a Young Star

29 March 2011
AAS Division on Dynamical Astronomy Meets in Austin April 11-14

28 March 2011
Texas Astronomers Find Super-luminous Supernova, Follow up with Fleet of Telescopes in Space, on Earth

22 March 2011
Visit McDonald Observatory's Open House Saturday, April 9

02 March 2011
Buckyballs, Largest Known Molecules, More Common in Space Than Thought

17 February 2011
Students Link with McDonald Observatory at Blakemore Planetarium Feb. 24

03 February 2011
First Stars in the Universe Weren't Lonely

02 February 2011
Kepler Finds Earth-Size Planet Candidates in Habitable Zone, Six Planet System

02 February 2011
Kepler Finds Earth-Size Planet Candidates in Habitable Zone, Six Planet System

25 January 2011
First Light for VIRUS-W Spectrograph

12 January 2011
Astronomers 'Weigh' Heaviest Known Black Hole in our Cosmic Neighborhood

2010

28 October 2010
Texas Astronomer Wins Japanese Physics Prize

21 October 2010
University of Texas Students, Telescopes Help Discover Planets Around Elderly Binary Star

20 October 2010
Multi-University Project to Study 'Dark Energy' Receives $8 Million from National Science Foundation

13 September 2010
Tom Barnes Celebrates Six Months as Superintendent of McDonald Observatory

02 September 2010
New Hubble Observations of Supernova 1987a Reveal Composition of 'Star Guts' Pouring Out

16 July 2010
McDonald Observatory Dedicates Wheelchair-Accessible Telescope for Visitors

21 June 2010
McDonald Observatory Launches Dark Skies Initiative with Video, Radio Programs

14 June 2010
McDonald Astronomers Help Confirm CoRoT Satellite's New Crop of Extrasolar Planets

24 May 2010
'Out of Whack' Planetary System Offers Clues to Disturbing Past

21 April 2010
Media Advisory Astronomers Discuss 'Hubble 3D,' Cosmic Research at Bob Bullock Museum

02 April 2010
Recent Texas PhD Receives Trumpler Award from Astronomical Society of the Pacific

01 April 2010
Media Advisory Texas Poet Laureate Reads at McDonald Observatory During National Poetry Month

25 March 2010
Universo Radio Program Celebrates 15 Years

18 February 2010
Mary Kay Hemenway Awarded Education Prize by American Astronomical Society

2009

21 October 2009
Mary Kay Hemenway Speaks on 'The Galileo Scandal' in El Paso October 23

09 October 2009
Boston University Astronomers Detect Sodium Gas Ejected by Lunar Impact

05 October 2009
David Lambert Delivers Talk ‘Dark Ages to Dark Energy' in Midland October 9

09 July 2009
New McDonald Observatory Instrument Revolutionizes Galaxy Studies

26 June 2009
Tom Barnes Discusses McDonald Observatory History at Austin's Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum July 1

16 June 2009
StarDate Magazine Launches Media Service with Planetary Line-Up in Pre-Dawn Sky June 19-21

10 June 2009
Neal Evans Delivers Talk on 'Time, Space, and Galileo' at San Antonio's Witte Museum June 21

08 June 2009
Texas-Sized Computer Finds Most Massive Black Hole in Galaxy M87

23 May 2009
McDonald Observatory Holds Open House April 4, Celebrates International Year of Astronomy

05 May 2009
University of Texas at Austin Astronomer is Co-Investigator in Search for Earth-like Planets

16 March 2009
Texas Cosmology Center Established at The University of Texas at Austin

08 March 2009
WMAP Reveals Neutrinos, End of Dark Ages, First Second of Universe

24 February 2009
Don Winget Delivers Talk on 'Scale and Contents of the Universe' in Laredo March 7

24 February 2009
Texas Legislature Honors University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University for Joint Efforts in Astronomy

23 February 2009
Media Advisory: Legislature's Joint Resolution to Recognize University of Texas at Austin, A&M Astronomy Work

17 February 2009
AEP Texas Funds Scholarships for West Texas Schools to Bring K-12 Students to McDonald Observatory

02 February 2009
Astronomers Discover Links Between Supermassive Black Holes and Galaxy Formation

2008

25 November 2008
Universo Radio Program Airs 5,000th Episode, Brings Astronomy & Skylore to Spanish-Speaking Audience

19 November 2008
Scientists Discover New Planet Orbiting Dangerously Close to Giant Star

05 November 2008
Galactic Luminaries to Converge on University of Texas Tuesday

22 October 2008
Astronomers Quimby, Wheeler Win Hyer Award from American Physical Society's Texas Section

19 September 2008
Astronomers Discover Key Molecule for Life Floating in Space Between the Stars

21 July 2008
Advertising Students Practice Real-Word Campaigning; Compete to Aid UT Astronomy Program

02 June 2008
Grant Funds Boy Scout Program, More, at McDonald Observatory

07 May 2008
Recent Texas PhD Awarded Prize for Outstanding Dissertation in Astronomy

01 May 2008
McDonald Observatory Astronomers Discover New Type of Pulsating White Dwarf Star

22 April 2008
Award-winning, Solar-powered House Built by University of Texas Students Comes to McDonald Observatory

15 April 2008
Presidents of Texas' Two Flagship Universities Powell and Murano, Philanthropist Mitchell Encourage Texans to Support Telescope Project

02 April 2008
Astronomers Find Suspected Medium-Sized Black Hole in Omega Centauri

07 February 2008
McDonald Observatory Receives $190,000 NASA Grant; Will Train Texas Elementary, Middle School Teachers in Science Education

10 January 2008
New Instrument, Telescope Upgrades Enable Pioneering Dark Energy Experiment at McDonald Observatory

09 January 2008
Study of 'GEMS' from Hubble, Spitzer Space Telescopes Reveals Cosmic Fireworks Fizzled Out at Universe Reached Mid-Lif

2007

05 December 2007
Texas Astronomer Makes First Ground-Based Detection of Extra-Solar Planet Atmosphere with HET

19 November 2007
University of Texas at Austin Astronomy Student Wins Rhodes Scholarship

09 November 2007
Astronomers Discover Sun's Twin at McDonald Observatory

10 October 2007
Most Powerful Supernova Ever: Found with Mini, Monumental McDonald Observatory Telescopes

09 October 2007
Consortium Selects Site in Chile for Future Giant Magellan Telescope

04 September 2007
'Astronomy Day from McDonald Observatory' Will Reach Thousands of Texas Middle-School Students

26 July 2007
University of Texas at Austin Astronomer Shares $500,000 International Cosmology Prize

08 July 2007
Hobby-Eberly Telescope Helps Astronomers Learn Secrets of One of Universe's Most Distant Objects

08 June 2007
McDonald Observatory Thanks Employees for Dedicated Service

29 May 2007
Astronomers Search for Quasars with a 'Kick'

23 May 2007
Astronomers Discover Multi-Planet System; May Alter Theories of Planet Formation

10 May 2007
Texas Astronomer Finds Six 'Cosmic Clocks' in Star Born Soon After Big Bang

07 May 2007
Free Fun for All at McDonald Observatory Open House This Saturday

16 April 2007
Don Wallace is New Site Superintendent for McDonald Observatory

12 April 2007
McDonald Observatory Holds Open House May 12

05 April 2007
Texas Astronomers Achieve Major Improvement in Cosmic Distance Scale with Hubble Telescope

01 March 2007
McDonald Observatory Makes Fun, Educational Spring Break Destination

26 February 2007
AEP Foundation Grants $30K to McDonald Observatory

05 February 2007
American Astronomical Society Confers Highest Honor on McDonald Observatory Director David Lambert

10 January 2007
Texas Supernova Search Finds Exploding Stars Fast, Follows Up Faster with Giant Telescope

08 January 2007
University of Texas Astronomer's Studies of Galactic Bulges May Alter Leading Theory of Galaxy Evolution

2006

13 December 2006
University of Texas Astronomer Explores Planet Formation Around Our Galaxy's Smallest, Most Abundant Stars

09 November 2006
New Findings Cast Doubt on Leading Theory of our Galaxy's Birth

02 November 2006
McDonald Observatory, Department of Astronomy Complete $2 Million Director's Chair Endowment

19 October 2006
McDonald Observatory Thanks Congressman Henry Bonilla for Vital Funding of NESSI Project

09 October 2006
University of Texas Astronomers Confirm Planets Form from Disks Around Stars

28 August 2006
StarDate Radio Celebrates 15 Years with Announcer Sandy Wood

16 August 2006
First Science with SALT: Observations of an Eclipsing Polar Binary Star

20 July 2006
'Science and the Sea' Radio Program Launches This Summer

17 July 2006
McDonald Observatory Visitors Center Named for Former Director Dr. Frank N. Bash

07 June 2006
Site testing under way at McDonald Observatory for federally funded telescope

18 May 2006
Astronomers use McDonald Observatory telescopes to confirm extrasolar planet

18 May 2006
McDonald Observatory honors local volunteers tonight

02 May 2006
McDonald Observatory brings Astronomy Day to Texas kids, Internet audience on May 4

27 April 2006
McDonald Observatory receives $5 million challenge grant to study elusive dark energy

18 April 2006
Giant Magellan Telescope Group Gains Partner Down Under

04 April 2006
McDonald Observatory introduces new Fire Marshal, more during 'Texas Wildfire Awareness Week'

04 April 2006
McDonald Observatory introduces new Fire Marshal, more during 'Texas Wildfire Awareness Week'

27 March 2006
New 'MONET/North' telescope to be dedicated at McDonald Observatory tomorrow

09 March 2006
International team of astronomers discovers origins of 'extreme helium stars'

20 February 2006
Amateur astronomers make first sighting of '10th planet' through McDonald Observatory telescope

11 January 2006
Astronomers Use Spitzer Space Telescope to Challenge Brown Dwarf Formation Models

2005

01 December 2005
Astronomers find most stable optical clock in the heavens

09 November 2005
University of Texas at Austin helped build giant African telescope

20 September 2005
Astronomers find improved evidence for supermassive black hole in Andromeda galaxy, uncover new mystery

08 September 2005
Texas astronomers, others find dead stars collecting dust

01 September 2005
Beautiful images from SALT mark 'first light' for Africa's giant eye

25 July 2005
Joint project with Texas Forest Service makes McDonald Observatory safer, brings national recognition

21 July 2005
Texas flagship universities celebrate milestone in Giant Magellan Telescope partnership

07 June 2005
McDonald Observatory receives $750,000 gift from Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

26 May 2005
Six College Students to Spend Summer at McDonald Observatory

13 May 2005
McDonald Observatory explains 'space weather' to students live via statewide videoconference

03 May 2005
McDonald Observatory, Terlingua Preservation Foundation Unite to Preserve Dark West Texas Skies

01 March 2005
Universo radio program celebrates 10 years, brings astronomy & skylore to Spanish-speaking audience

24 February 2005
Texas astronomer J. Craig Wheeler elected President of American Astronomical Society

18 February 2005
Magnetar flare blitzed Earth Dec. 27, could solve cosmic mysteries

10 January 2005
McDonald Observatory Plans Outdoor 'Parallax Park'

07 January 2005
New Site, HET Managers at McDonald Observatory

04 January 2005
Texas Astronomers find Mystery Object in 'Starless Core' with Spitzer Space Telescope

2004

13 October 2004
High School Students Spend Night In Computer Lab, Help McDonald Observatory Search For Planets

27 September 2004
McDonald Observatory and Partners Receive Federal Appropriation, Move Forward Plans to Develop New Astronomy Facility

20 September 2004
StarDate Teams with Humanities Texas, Brings Native Skies to Nation's Airwaves

31 August 2004
McDonald Observatory Astronomers Discover Neptune-Sized Planet with Hobby-Eberly Telescope

03 August 2004
Mitchell Gift to Texas A&M, Support from The University of Texas at Austin Allow Flagship Universities to Join Telescope Consortium

09 July 2004
Texas Astronomers Find & Confirm Extrasolar Planet in Record Time with Hobby-Eberly Telescope

21 June 2004
Texas Astronomer Wins ASP's Muhlmann Award for Infrared Instruments

17 June 2004
'Blazar' Illuminates Era When Stars & Galaxies Formed

16 June 2004
Stellar Symposium Honors David Lambert's Birthday

02 June 2004
Astronomers Probe the Environment of Exploding Stars with HET, Computer Models

14 May 2004
Students Go Live Online with McDonald Observatory to Search for Planets

19 April 2004
McDonald Observatory Co-Sponsors Lecture on ‘Scientific Development and the Democratic Process in South Africa’

19 April 2004
McDonald Observatory Astronomer to Lead Study of 'Vision Mission' Space Observatory for NASA

16 April 2004
Hobby-Eberly Telescope Witnesses Vaporizing of a Cometlike Body by a Very Young Hot Star

23 March 2004
Komatsu Receives Young Astronomer Award from Astronomical Society of Japan Today

22 March 2004
Peeking at a Puzzling Supernova with Spectropolarimetry

08 March 2004
McDonald Observatory Hosts Special Events in Mid-March

12 January 2004
Giant Galaxy String Defies Model of How Universe Evolved

02 January 2004
Duncan Shares Bruno Rossi Prize for Ultra-magnetic Stars

2003

09 December 2003
Astronomers Re-measure the Universe with Hubble Space Telescope

19 November 2003
Scientists Develop Cheap Method for Solar System Hunt Using McDonald Observatory Telescope

20 October 2003
McDonald Observatory Receives Multi-Year Grant to Train Students

08 October 2003
Einstein’s Biggest Blunder?

29 September 2003
McDonald Observatory & Partners Receive Federal Appropriation, Will Bring New Research Telescope to Texas

13 August 2003
Lambert to Lead McDonald Observatory

06 August 2003
Exploding Stars: Asymmetry with Cosmological Consequences

11 July 2003
Summer Brings New Attractions to McDonald Observatory

23 June 2003
StarDate Radio Program Celebrates 25 Years

20 June 2003
Media Advisory: Westcave Preserve & McDonald Observatory Present Summer Solstice Events June 21

16 May 2003
McDonald Observatory Announces Summer 2003 Professional Development Workshops for Science Teachers

05 May 2003
What are Astronomers Doing at McDonald Observatory?

31 January 2003
Astronomer, Educator Hemenway Inducted into Texas Hall of Fame for Science, Mathematics, and Technology

31 January 2003
StarDate Magazine Celebrates 30 Years

2002

03 December 2002
Texas astronomers make precise measure of extrasolar world’s true mass

23 October 2002
Texas astronomer watches as black hole eats a star

09 October 2002
McDonald Observatory Planet Search finds first planet orbiting close-in binary star

17 September 2002
UT-Austin astronomer discovers massive black holes in two star clusters

16 September 2002
NEWS MEDIA AVISORY UT-Austin astronomer's black hole discoveries subject of NASA news conference

16 September 2002
NEWS MEDIA AVISORY UT-Austin astronomer's black hole discoveries subject of NASA news conference

10 May 2002
Texas astronomer brings infrared space telescope team to UT-Austin

09 April 2002
Texas Astronomer uses Hubble Space Telescope to Solve Mystery of Favorite Galaxy

08 March 2002
Media Representatives Invited to April 6 Preview of New McDonald Observatory Visitors Center

22 February 2002
McDonald Observatory Announces Summer 2002 Professional Development Workshops for Teachers

22 February 2002
McDonald Observatory Announces Summer 2002 Professional Development Workshops for Teachers

06 February 2002
HET Goes “Back to Nature”

13 January 2002
Bash to Step Down as McDonald Observatory Director

07 January 2002
Radioactive decay of elements gives age of stars, points to evolution of the Milky Way

07 January 2002
Radiation zaps Mars and extrasolar planets, affects biological evolution

2001

29 November 2001
Texas Teachers to Benefit from $35K Gift to McDonald Observatory

29 November 2001
Meadows Foundation Grant to Benefit McDonald Observatory

29 November 2001
Give the StarDate Sky Almanac this season and support science education in Texas!

14 June 2001
UT Austin scientists find evidence that all radio-loud quasars may be blazars

05 May 2001
Missing Molecule Holds Clues to Comet's Origin

14 February 2001
American Electric Power Sponsors StarDate, Bringing Astronomy Lore to Millions

14 February 2001
SBC Foundation supports radio outreach for science education

14 February 2001
World’s Top Observatories to Collaborate for Public Education

2000

12 October 2000
Touching the Stars: UT Astronomer Honored for Inspiring Teachers, Students

29 August 2000
Long Foundations provide support for Universo, Spanish-language sister program to StarDate radio broadcasts

23 August 2000
Long Foundations support Universo

07 August 2000
Search For Extrasolar Planets Hits Home

26 June 2000
New Lighting Ordinance Promotes Darker Skies, Safer Streets

21 June 2000
Interstellar Clouds Yield Clues to the Origins of the Element Lithium

05 June 2000
Supermassive Black Holes Reveal New Clues to Galaxy Formation

31 March 2000
Telescopes, Terrain, and Technology Unite Twin Towns

28 March 2000
Astrophysical issues to be explored by researchers from Texas and Mexico during UT Austin conference

02 March 2000
Hobby-Eberly Telescope Enters Early Operation Phase

02 March 2000
Jets, Not Neutrinos, May Cause Supernova Explosions, Scientists Say

04 February 2000
John Kormendy Fills First Vaughan Chair in Astronomy

28 January 2000
New $6 million Astronomy Science Center at McDonald Observatory To be Built for Texas, Nation

28 January 2000
Signing of Southern African Large Telescope Agreement Marks Major Milestone