Sing along: "The stars at night. . . are big and bright [clap-clap-clap-clap], deep in the heart of Texas." How true. We visited McDonald Observatory, a research unit of the Univ. of Texas, and home of some of the largest telescopes in the world--the Hobby-Eberly with a 433 inch mirror, the Harlan J. Smith at 107 inches, the Otto Struve at 82 inches, and numerous others. Atop Mt. Locke (elevation 6000+) you can find the darkest night skies in the U.S. We attended the Twilight Program and the Star Party, where we were entertained with a tour, interactive educational presentations in an outdoor amphitheater, and awesome views through telescopes. Featured performers for this crystal clear evening were the moon, Saturn, Orion Nebula, and a newly-forming star. But the most magnificent and memorable sight of all was the entire night sky in all of it's splendor. It is rare to get a chance to see a night sky the naked eye can see so clearly sprinkled with millions of sparkling lights.
1 comment:
We love McDonald Observatory! Great star party at night. Definitely worth a stop.
Have you checked out the Marfa lights- not too far from there?
Jaimie Hall Bruzenak
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