McDonald Observatory is located in the Davis Mountains, 450 miles west of Austin, Texas.
The Observatory is equipped with a wide range of state-of-the-art instrumentation for imaging and spectroscopy in the optical and infrared, and operates one of the first and most productive lunar ranging stations.
Currently, McDonald operates four research telescopes at our West Texas site:
9.2m Hobby-Eberly Telescope
2.7m Harlan J. Smith Telescope
2.1m Otto Struve Telescope
0.8m Telescope
The observatory also hosts one of the four globally networked Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment (ROTSE) telescopes, and is a Monitoring Network of Telescopes (MONET) site.
McDonald Observatory is open to the public. Approximately 60,000 visitors each year attend star parties and exhibits, as well as continuing education programs for educators. Recently, the Frank N. Bash Visitors Center dedicated a first of its kind, the Wren-Marcario wheelchair accessible telescope.
Observers
Research Facilities
Telescope and instrumentation information for facilities available to McDonald Observatory researchers.
HETDEX
Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment
HETDEX: Illuminating the Darkness
Webcams
Coordinates
Mt. Locke
Lat: 30° 40' 17.4" N
Long: 104° 01' 21.4" W
Elev: 2076m above geoid
Staff
Mission
Public - Visitors Center
McDonald Observatory visitor information, tours, public programs, virtual tour and virtual gift shop.
20th Annual Great Lecture in Astronomy
A New Job for Telescopes: Making Solar Electricity
--Dr. Roger Angel
February 11, 1 PM
ACES 2.302
Dark Skies
The night sky has been lost to light pollution in most areas of the United States, a waste of energy, money, and illumination. Help bring back the night sky where you live.
McDonald Observatory's Dark Skies Initiative
SCOPE
I-10 is the Highway to the Stars