Projects | What Are Astronomers Doing&

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What Are Astronomers Doing?
Projects

Observing projects scheduled at McDonald Observatory for the week of August 30:

Exploring Nearby Stars

Earle Luck of Case Western Reserve University continues his study of stars in the Sun's neighborhood, using the 2.1-meter Otto Struve Telescope. More »

Following Up On Planet Discoveries from Space

McDonald Observatory astronomer Bill Cochran is following up on possible planet discoveries from NASA’s Kepler mission using the 2.7-meter Harlan J. Smith Telescope at McDonald. More »

HET Confirms Quasar 12.7 Billion Light-Years Away

Astronomers have used the 9.2-meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at McDonald Observatory to confirm one of the most distant known objects in the universe. The object is a quasar — an extremely bright galaxy nucleus powered by matter falling into a supermassive black hole at its heart — that is 12.7 billion light-years away. Because light travels at a finite speed, we are seeing this quasar as it appeared 12.7 billion years ago, when the universe was just 7 percent of its present age. More »

NASA Astronomer of the Week: Eiichiro Komatsu

NASA recently released five years of data collected by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) team, including University of Texas at Austin astronomer Eiichiro Komatsu, that refines our understanding of the universe and its development. The treasure trove of information includes three major findings about the universe. More »

Special Viewing Night

Have you ever dreamed of looking at faraway objects with a large telescope? This week visitors will gather at McDonald Observatory to explore the treasures of the Milky Way. More »

Studying Stellar Pulsations

Seismology is the study of earthquakes to determine the mechanical properties of Earth. Some daring astronomers, this week, are hoping to apply similar principles in the study of stars. More »

This program is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant AST 0227870. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.