View the Universe, and the Davis Mountians.
The location for the McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains was chosen because of the low light pollution and high elevation. It really does have some of the best views available of the night sky, even with the naked eye. During the day, you can explore the various tools available for viewing our universe, and catch some amazing views of the Davis Mountains. At night, you can gaze up at the starry sky. I suggest choosing a time to visit that is near a new moon for optimal views.
Daytime tours
The observatory hosts daily tours. The main research telescopes, the 107-inch Smith and the ~10-meter Hobby-Eberly, are on top of Mt. Locke and Mt. Fowlkes, respectively. Both summits are around 6,700 feet. Near the visitor’s center, in the valley, is the 82-inch radio telescope. On the expansive property, owned by the University of Texas, there are a couple of other scopes still used for research, and yet more that are retired from research. At the moment, the Hobby-Eberly is the second or third largest in the world, depending upon how one measures.
One can take a self-guided visit, but we chose a guided daytime tour. Us parents are not nearly as interesting to listen to as undergraduate interns. The internships are highly sought after too, so they know their stuff. Even though it was a pretty cloudy day, we managed to get a break in the clouds, allowing a good view of the sun through the solar-viewing telescope. The kids on the tour all got to help out with moving the 107-inch around. The visitor’s center and the Hobby-Eberly viewing gallery both have engaging exhibits that help to explain how the telescopes are used to collect and analyze data. Yes, much of the tour is technically indoors. But it helps to explain outside? I’m counting it. Plus, when we were outside, there were some expansive views of the mountain range.
Star parties
We also visited the observatory for one of the star parties, held every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. First, everyone gathered in the large outdoor amphitheater to gaze up at the sky, and learn about the constellations and planets. If you haven’t been to a star party, this is usually done with a large laser pointer. Sleepy children are enough like cats that this is fairly effective entertainment. The night sky was spectacular—both in terms of clarity and observable color variations to the naked eye. Wear warm clothes, though; even in the summer it gets brisk!
The summer was perhaps not my best choice for a visit since the sun doesn’t set until quite late. My 7-year old was already tired from a full day by 10 pm, and I wanted her to be able to get a glimpse of the sky through the many telescopes set up around the amphitheater. The telescopes ranged from 4-22 inches, and included both refracting and reflecting types. The public have benefited by the hunking pieces of glass used in the research scopes. Several of the larger scopes for the public were made out of the remnants of the research scopes. Through them, we got to view a number of planets, nebulas, stars, and star clusters. Given the optimal viewing conditions, the experience was much better than with some larger scopes we’ve been able to use. For example, I think my daughter got a lot more out of this visit than her visit to the 36” scope at the George Observatory outside of Houston.
Get out, and see the stars!
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