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 program. We will refund the cost of your reservation, minus a $3 processing fee. The processing fee is applied per reservation, not per individual ticket. If you cancel less than 3 days prior to your scheduled program, we are not able to offer a refund. Refunds are not available for previously rescheduled reservations.

You may contact the visitors center at reservations@mcdonaldobservatory.org or 432-426-3640 (Tuesday - Saturday 12-5 pm; we are not currently able to staff the phones on other days or at other times).

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. Refunds are not available for previously rescheduled reservations.

What if it is cloudy on my Star Party night?

Unfortunately, not every night is clear. Occasionally a clear evening clouds over, a cloudy evening clears off, or the evening alternates between clear and cloudy conditions. We make every effort to appropriately plan based on the best available satellite and weather radar information. We will take every reasonable opportunity to do telescope viewing with guests. Program refunds are offered (less a $3 processing fee) when conditions do not look promising. Your program host will explain the options for that evening at the start of the Star Party program.

When conditions don't allow for telescope viewing, we offer various indoor live talks and demonstrations: virtual sky tours with sky simulation software, video/animations, and images from ground-based and space-based telescopes, demonstrations of principles of spectroscopy as it applies to research conducted at McDonald Observatory, and others. Many of our visitors who have joined both clear-night and cloudy-night programs tell us that they learned as much about astronomy and more about how astronomers know so much about the Universe during a cloudy-night Star Party.

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.