Posts by McDonald Observatory
July 23, 2019
McDonald Observatory Will Promote Dark Skies Awareness with Gift from Apache Corporation
A $257,000 gift to The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory from Apache Corporation will fund the observatory’s ongoing efforts to preserve the dark West Texas skies that make research possible and provide unsurpassed views of the universe to […]
July 17, 2019
The New Voice of StarDate
StarDate Radio is announcing today that Billy Henry is the program’s new voice. Henry, an Austin-based voice talent, musician, composer, and college lecturer, becomes the third narrator of the program in its 41-year history. He assumes the title from Sandy […]
July 1, 2019
StarDate’s Sandy Wood to Retire
Sandy Wood, the popular and charismatic announcer of the StarDate radio program, is retiring after 28 years on the air. Her final episode will air July 16. StarDate is the longest running nationally syndicated science program on American radio. Produced […]
May 22, 2019
Donation to UT Will Expand View of the Universe
David Booth, co-founder and executive chairman of Austin-based Dimensional Fund Advisors and a visionary philanthropist, has committed a $10 million gift to The University of Texas at Austin. His philanthropic investment will be used to advance Texas Science and the […]
May 3, 2019
McDonald Observatory’s 80th Anniversary Kicks Off at State Capitol
The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory is celebrating its 80th anniversary, and it started today with an event at the Capitol. Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 60, authored by Texas state Sen. José Rodríguez to honor the anniversary, passed this […]
March 26, 2019
Two New Planets Discovered Using Artificial Intelligence
Astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin, in partnership with Google, have used artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover two more hidden planets in the Kepler space telescope archive. The technique shows promise for identifying many additional planets that traditional […]
February 20, 2019
Habitable Zone Planet Finder Enables Discovery of Planets Around Cool Stars with Hobby-Eberly Telescope
A new astronomical spectrograph provides the highest precision measurements to date of infrared signals from nearby stars, allowing astronomers to detect planets capable of having liquid water on their surfaces that orbit cool stars outside our solar system. The Habitable […]
January 9, 2019
Thousands of Stars Observed Turning into Crystals for the First Time
The first direct evidence of crystallized white dwarf stars has been discovered by an international team of researchers that includes an astronomer at The University of Texas at Austin. Predicted half a century ago, the direct evidence of these stars […]
January 8, 2019
J. Craig Wheeler Shares Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) announced today at its semi-annual meeting in Seattle that J. Craig Wheeler and David Branch will share its Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award for 2019. Wheeler is the Samuel T. and Fern Yanagisawa Regents Professor of […]
December 12, 2018
Texas Astronomers Find that Dark Matter Dominates Across Cosmic Time
In findings published today in The Astrophysical Journal, University of Texas at Austin astronomers report that they have stumbled on an extraordinary galaxy that may corroborate a recently contested theory about dark matter. Dark matter is matter that does not give off […]
October 4, 2018
StarDate Radio Program Celebrates 40 Years
The longest running nationally aired science program is marking a major milestone. “StarDate” radio, produced by The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory, celebrates 40 years on the nation’s airwaves. In its nearly 15,000 daily two-minute episodes, “StarDate” has brought […]
September 12, 2018
Magnetic Waves Create Chaos in Star-Forming Clouds
New research by Stella Offner, assistant professor of astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin, finds that magnetic waves are an important factor driving the process of star formation within the enormous clouds that birth stars. Her research sheds light on […]
September 6, 2018
Galactic “Wind” Stifling Star Formation is Most Distant Yet Seen
For the first time, a powerful “wind” of molecules has been detected in a galaxy located 12 billion light-years away. Probing a time when the universe was less than 10 percent of its current age, University of Texas at Austin […]
August 20, 2018
New Geodetic Observatory Coming to UT Austin’s McDonald Observatory
A new scientific facility is under construction on the grounds of The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory that will help scientists better understand Earth and could help minimize the effects of geohazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, sea […]
August 14, 2018
Excavation Begins on Giant Magellan Telescope Site in Chile
The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory today shared in announcing the start of hard rock excavation for the Giant Magellan Telescope’s (GMT’s) massive concrete pier and the foundations for the telescope’s enclosure on its site at Las Campanas […]