Posts by McDonald Observatory
August 29, 2023
McDonald Observatory Invites Ecological Research as a Texas Field Station
McDonald Observatory is proud to become the newest member of The University of Texas at Austin Texas Field Station Network. This Network represents a collection of sites spread across the state that are used by the University for scientific research, environmental […]
August 15, 2023
West Texas Businesses Preserve Night Sky – One Light Bulb at a Time
McDonald Observatory’s Dark Skies Initiative recognizes five West Texas businesses and public organizations for adopting night sky friendly lighting practices. The Alpine Visitor Center, Alpine Public Library, Marfa Visitor Center, RoadRunner Travelers RV Park in Terlingua, and Ghost Town Casitas hotel in Terlingua all worked with the Observatory to reduce […]
August 14, 2023
Astronomers Confirm Maisie’s Galaxy is Among Earliest Ever Observed
Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers racing to find some of the earliest galaxies ever glimpsed have now confirmed that a galaxy first detected last summer is in fact among the earliest ever found. The findings are in […]
August 3, 2023
Mapping Everything Everywhere All At Once
The Local Volume Mapper (LVM) Instrument has seen first science light. LVM is one of the three mappers that make up the fifth phase of the SDSS’s ambitious all-sky, multi-epoch spectroscopic survey. This new instrument will create a spectroscopic map […]
July 19, 2023
JWST Awards 148 Hours Observing Time to University of Texas Astronomer
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has awarded 148 hours of observing time to a group of scientists led by John Chisholm, assistant professor of astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin. He is co-principal investigator on the selected […]
July 13, 2023
Chemical Cartography Reveals the Milky Way’s Spiral Arms
Keith Hawkins, assistant professor of astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin, has used chemical cartography – also known as chemical mapping – to identify regions of the Milky Way’s spiral arms that have previously gone undetected. His research, published […]
July 6, 2023
Webb Telescope Detects Most Distant Active Supermassive Black Hole
Researchers have discovered the most distant active supermassive black hole to date with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The galaxy, CEERS 1019, existed about 570 million years after the big bang, and its black hole is less massive than […]
June 22, 2023
New Era of Exoplanet Discovery Begins with Images of ‘Jupiter’s Younger Sibling’
A team led by astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin has captured images of the lowest-mass extrasolar planet ever discovered that has both a direct mass measurement and an orbit similar to the giant planets in our own […]
June 19, 2023
Searching for an Atmosphere on the Rocky Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA)-led group of astronomers searched for an atmosphere on rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c. Though the planet is nearly identical in size and temperature to Venus, its atmosphere […]
June 7, 2023
Astronomers Observe Giant Tails of Helium Escaping Jupiter-Like Planet
A team of astronomers has used observations from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory to discover some of the longest tails of gas yet observed escaping a planet. The planet, HAT-P-32b, is nearly […]
May 25, 2023
McDonald Observatory Dedicates David G. Booth Director’s House
On Saturday, May 20, McDonald Observatory dedicated the David G. Booth Director’s House. This dedication is in recognition of David Booth’s $10 million gift to The University of Texas at Austin toward the Observatory’s share of construction costs of the Giant Magellan […]
May 23, 2023
Searching for Supernovae in HETDEX Data
In the search for supernovae, astronomers must comb through a wealth of data. Automated photometric surveys find millions of possible supernovae every night. This is far too many for astronomers to manually review each one and identify which may merit […]
April 17, 2023
Two Eclipses Across Texas Bring Science Exploration to Our Backyard
Texas sits under the X of two solar eclipse paths crisscrossing North America in the next year. On Saturday, October 14, 2023, an annular solar eclipse, sometimes called a ‘Ring of Fire’, will stretch across Texas from Midland to Corpus Christi. […]
April 13, 2023
James Webb Space Telescope Images Challenge Theories of How Universe Evolved
Hefty young galaxies defy the reigning model of cosmology, called “dark energy + cold dark matter” or ΛCDM The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) appears to be finding multiple galaxies that grew too massive too soon after the Big Bang, […]
April 7, 2023
JWST First Stunning Image of Cassiopeia A, Fragments of a Hellish Explosion
To gaze at the stars is human. To be able to see them in three-dimensional detail is very nearly divine. Divine vision is what the James Webb Space Telescope has granted earthbound scientists in a new near-infrared, detailed image of […]
April 6, 2023
McDonald Observatory Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve
This week, McDonald Observatory and numerous partners join in celebrating the first anniversary of the Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve. Covering more than 15,000 square miles in Texas and Mexico, the Reserve is the largest dark sky place […]