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Help Renovate Our Visitors Center - Gifts Being Matched!

As our Frank N. Bash Visitors Center enters its third decade in service, we’ve started an extensive renovation of its public spaces. You are invited to be part of this transformative project by contributing to its funding. All gifts are currently being matched by sponsors!

Local Properties Keep Our Stars Bright with Night Sky Friendly Lighting

The night sky is a treasured part of life in the Big Bend region – an awe-inspiring backdrop to our lives. Preserving it takes the support of all in our community. In this effort, three organizations with local properties – Village Fresh Greenhouse Grown, the Brewster County Courthouse, and Terlingua Ranch Lodge – are the latest to adopt nighttime lighting that helps keep our skies dark and stars bright.

Livestream Dec 17: Compact Objects

Join the McDonald Observatory on Dec 17 as we explore white dwarf stars, neutron stars, and black holes! Your hosts Saul Rivera, Jaye Smittick, and UT astronomer and grad student Zoe Hackshaw will talk about how some of these objects form and their properties. If weather permits, we will show live views of targets that contain these objects.

Unique Shape of Star’s Explosion Revealed Just a Day After Detection

For the first time, astronomers unveiled the shape of a star's explosion at its earliest, fleeting stage. This brief initial phase wouldn’t have been observable a day later and helps address a whole set of questions about how massive stars go supernova. “This particular series of observations on 2024ggi is absolutely unprecedented,” said J. Craig Wheeler, an astronomer at The University of Texas at Austin.

McDonald Observatory Director Elected to Chair Giant Magellan Telescope Board of Directors

The GMTO Corporation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit and international consortium building the Giant Magellan Telescope, has announced a leadership transition on its Board of Directors. After nearly a decade as chair, Walter Massey (center) is retiring. The board has elected McDonald Observatory Director Taft Armandroff (left) as its new chair and Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt (right) as vice chair.