The McDonald Observatory was originally endowed by the Texas banker William Johnson McDonald, who left about $1 million - the bulk of his fortune - to the University of Texas to endow an astronomical observatory. The provision of the will was challenged by McDonald's relatives, but after a long legal fight, the University received about $800,000 from the estate and construction began at Mt. Locke. The then-unnamed Otto Struve Telescope was dedicated on May 5, 1939, and at that time was the second largest telescope in the world. McDonald Observatory was operated under contract by the University of Chicago until the 1960s, when control was transferred to the University of Texas at Austin under the direction of Harlan J. Smith. Research today at the McDonald Observatory encompasses a wide variety of topics and projects, including planetary systems, stars and stellar spectroscopy, the interstellar medium, extragalactic astronomy, and theoretical astronomy. Directors
The McDonald Observatory is equipped with a wide range of instrumentation for imaging and spectroscopy in the optical and infrared spectra, and operates the first lunar laser ranging station. It works closely with the astronomy department of the University of Texas at Austin while maintaining administrative autonomy. The high and dry peaks of the Davis Mountains make for some of the darkest and clearest night skies in the region and provide excellent conditions for astronomical research. The Otto Struve Telescope, dedicated in 1939, was the first large telescope built at the observatory. It is located on Mt. Locke at an altitude of. The summit of Mt. Locke, accessed by Spur 78, is the highest point on Texas highways. The Harlan J. Smith Telescope, also on Mt. Locke, was completed in 1968. The Hobby-Eberly Telescope, dedicated in late 1997, is located on the summit of Mt. Fowlkes at above sea level. It is operated jointly by the University of Texas at Austin, Pennsylvania State University, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and Georg-August University of Göttingen. As of 2019, after upgrades the HET is tied with the Keck Telescopes as the second or third largest telescope in the world. However, its cost was about 20% that of other similarly-sized telescopes in use today due to its optimization for spectroscopy.
Telescopes
Currently, the observatory operates four research telescopes at its West Texas site:
Hobby-Eberly Telescope on Mt. Fowlkes
Harlan J. Smith Telescope on Mt. Locke
Otto Struve Telescope on Mt. Locke
large format imaging telescope on Mt. Locke
A telescope, formerly used for research, is now used for visitor programs.
Tenant telescopes
The two peaks also host a number of other instruments:
The Millimeter Wave Observatory radio telescope operated on Mt. Locke until 1988. MWO was a joint project between the UT Department of Astronomy and the Department of Electrical Engineering. The site of the dish antenna is now occupied by the BLOOMhouse, the UT School of Architecture's entry in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, which is now used for staff housing.
Climate
The observatory experiences a semi-arid climate with cool, dry winters and hot, dry summers.
Coordinates:
Elevation:
Visiting
The Frank N. Bash Visitors Center, located between Mt. Locke and Mt. Fowlkes, includes a café, gift shop, and interactive exhibit hall. The Visitors Center conducts daily live solar viewings in a large theater and tours of the observatory's largest telescopes. It also hosts evening star parties, every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday evening which allow visitors to look through numerous telescopes of various sizes in the Telescope Park, including the wheelchair accessible Wren Marcario Accessible Telescope, and enjoy an indoor program. Special viewing nights, during which visitors can stay on-site and view directly through eyepieces on the 0.9 m, Struve, or Smith telescopes, are held on a reservation-only basis. Although not available for several years, as of June 2013, the 2.1m has returned to occasional public access.
