Posts by McDonald Observatory
February 15, 2022
Brendan Bowler Receives 2022 Sloan Research Fellowship
Brendan Bowler, an assistant professor of astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin, has been selected as a 2022 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in Physics. Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded yearly to early career researchers in recognition of […]
February 7, 2022
Bill Wren, Tireless Promoter of Dark Skies, Retires from McDonald Observatory
After more than three decades of sharing astronomy with the public and working to protect dark skies from light pollution, Bill Wren has retired from McDonald Observatory. “Bill Wren has had a strong, positive impact on McDonald Observatory over his […]
December 17, 2021
Probing the Secrets of Dead Stars and Planetary Remnants from McDonald Observatory
In the course of research for his PhD, Zach Vanderbosch spent nearly 300 nights studying the heavens from telescopes at The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory. Later this month, he will receive his doctorate for his research into […]
December 1, 2021
Texas Astronomers Discover Strangely Massive Black Hole in Milky Way Satellite Galaxy
Astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory have discovered an unusually massive black hole at the heart of one of the Milky Way’s dwarf satellite galaxies, called Leo I. Almost as massive as the black hole in […]
November 8, 2021
National Academy of Sciences Report Ranks US Extremely Large Telescope Program, Including the Giant Magellan Telescope, as Top Priority for US Astronomy in the 2020s
A new report out from the National Academy of Sciences, the highly anticipated decadal survey Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s, or “Astro2020,” has presented recommendations for making federal investments critical to achieving advances in US astronomy […]
October 19, 2021
Weizmann Institute of Science Joins University of Texas at Austin, Partners in Giant Magellan Telescope Project
On September 14, 2021, The University of Texas at Austin and other co-founders of the Giant Magellan Telescope project welcomed the Weizmann Institute of Science into their international consortium. The new partnership reinforces that completing the largest and most powerful […]
September 22, 2021
Uncovering the Mystery of Early Massive Galaxies Running on Empty
Early massive galaxies — those that formed in the three billion years following the Big Bang — should have contained large amounts of cold hydrogen gas, the fuel required to make stars. But a team of scientists including Justin Spilker, Hubble […]
September 14, 2021
McDonald Observatory, Partners Request Letters of Support for Dark Sky Reserve
McDonald Observatory and its community partners (Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, the Davis Mountains Preserve, and others) are close to sending in their application to create an International Dark Sky Reserve in the Big Bend, and […]
August 31, 2021
Galaxies Pump Out Contaminated Exhausts
Galaxies pollute the environment they exist in, researchers have found. A team of astronomers including The University of Texas at Austin’s Danielle Berg and John Chisholm used a new imaging system at the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii to confirm […]
August 4, 2021
West Texas Communities Protect Night Skies; McDonald Observatory Hosts Dark Skies Town Hall Aug. 12
The dark skies of far West Texas may soon get even darker, thanks to commitments from communities in the region to reduce light pollution. McDonald Observatory wishes to thank the counties and municipalities in the proposed Greater Big Bend International Dark […]
July 24, 2021
McDonald Observatory Mourns Death of World-Renowned Physicist Steven Weinberg
Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg, a professor of physics and astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin, has died. He was 88. One of the most celebrated scientists of his generation, Weinberg was best known for helping to develop a […]
July 7, 2021
David Doss to Retire from McDonald Observatory after 50 Years’ Service
David Doss is retiring from McDonald Observatory after half a century of making scientific research happen. As Assistant Manager for Observing Support, he has been there to make sure the telescopes and instruments are in tip-top shape and working as […]
May 18, 2021
Astronomers Disprove Planet Orbiting Nearby Barnard’s Star
Astronomers are announcing today that they have disproved a 2018-announced planet orbiting Barnard’s Star, the second-closest star to our Sun. The findings, based on observations with the Habitable Zone Planet Finder (HPF) instrument on the 10-meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope at The […]
April 29, 2021
Exoplanet is Gobbling Up Gas and Dust as it Continues to Build Mass
The Hubble Space Telescope has allowed astronomers from The University of Texas at Austin to get a rare look at a young, Jupiter-sized planet that is growing by feeding off material surrounding a young star 370 light-years from Earth. “We […]