Buy Tickets for Programs

The Star Party on September 15th, 2020 has been canceled due to weather concerns. If you had passes for tonight's program, your reservation will be canceled and your passes refunded. No other action on your part is required. An email with further information has been sent to the address used to make your reservation.

COVID-19 REQUIREMENTS FOR VISITING the McDonald Observatory Frank N Bash Visitors Center ..

August 19, 2020

As part of our reopening, we are limiting which programs are available as well as limiting attendance for those programs. Our staff will be using best practices in facility cleanliness and personal protective equipment (PPE).

We also require our visitors to take the same precautions, including mask wearing, maintaining social distancing, frequent hand washing/sanitizing, and not eating/drinking inside the building. In addition, if you're not feeling well prior to your visit, please stay home. We will happily reschedule or refund your tickets with no charges.

For updates, please continue to consult this website as well as our press release page.

At this time, The Frank N. Bash Visitors Center is open only for Star Parties. These will occur on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, weather permitting. All programs are subject to capacity limits. Reservations are required for programs; no exeptions will be made. To ensure program participation, make advance reservations below.

Programs

Join us for the following programs at our West Texas observatory.

Evening Star Parties - Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays

Use the tools below to buy tickets. The system defaults to one adult pass. If you don't need that pass, click the number field and select zero.

Prices

	Adults	•Military •Senior (65+) •Students •Children (all ages, even babies)
Star Party	$25	$20

$20 for locals (Fort Davis, Alpine, and Marfa, with valid proof of residency)

Please include all members of your party in your tour reservation (including passes for children of any age). Contact us for more information or to let us know if you have special needs. Bring a printout of your online receipt, a digital copy on your device (note that the Observatory does not have public WiFi and is out of cell range) or make note of the confirmation code you receive from our system. Passes will be under your last name at the Information Desk.

UT & Military discount / Refund policy / Pet policy / SBCGlobal, AOL, Yahoo, etc. ...

UT & Military Discount: The Visitors Center offers a discount to our UT colleagues with a current valid UT ID. To receive this discount, enter any passes for current UT students, staff, or faculty under the "Snr/Mil/Stndt" (Senior 65+ / Active Military & Family / Student) category. Active duty military should also select the "Snr/Mil/Stdnt" category to receive that discount.

Cancellation / Reschedule / Refund Policy:

What if I need to cancel?
If you need to cancel your plans for any reason, please do so at least 3 days before your scheduled star party. We will refund the cost of your reservation, minus a $3 processing fee. The processing fee is applied per order, not per individual ticket. If you cancel less than 3 days prior to the star party, we are not able to offer a refund. You may contact the visitors center at reservations@mcdonaldobservatory.org or 432-426-3640 (Tu-Sa 10am-5pm). If you or anyone in your party are not feeling well, please DO NOT visit. Contact our reservations team and we will be happy to assist you.

Can I transfer my ticket to a different date and/or time?
If you need to reschedule, please let us know at least 3 days in advance of your scheduled program. We are able to reschedule to another date within our reservation system if there are sufficient passes available to accommodate your request. Otherwise, we will be happy to process a cancellation and refund, less a $3 processing fee.

What if my program is canceled due to bad weather or other reasons?
In the event your program is cancelled by the Visitors Center, we will waive any processing fee and refund your full reservation amount.

No-shows of those with a reservation for a scheduled program will neither be refunded nor rescheduled.

Pet Policy: As much as most of us would love to welcome our four-legged furry friends, UT policy, in accordance with the State Attorney's General Office, does not allow pets (including emotional, comfort, etc., therapy/support animals) in Observatory buildings or in indoor/at outdoor public program venues. In accordance with federal regulations, trained service animals accompanying their handlers/owners are welcome.

SBCGlobal, AOL, Yahoo, HotMail, etc.: SBCGlobal often blocks email from our reservation system. Please use a different email address or email our staff to request a PDF copy of your reservation confirmation. Please be sure to check your spam/junk folder and/or add "reservations@webreserv.com" to your address book as an approved email contact before making your reservations to avoid missing your confirmation email.

Important: McDonald Observatory, part of the University of Texas at Austin, is located 450 miles west of Austin and is on Central Time.

Amphitheater with Milky Way (horizontal)