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| The 107-inch Harlan J. Smith telescope weighs 100 tons and has been in operation since it was completed in 1968. More than 100,000 visitors a year witness the humbling experience of watching this $6.5 million piece of technology rotate in the 435-ton dome it calls home. (Photo by Holly Wise) |
- If having a 100-ton telescope swivel above your head and point into the sky through a remote-controlled door on the fifth floor of a dome that rests at 6,800 feet doesn’t give you a “WOW” factor, check your pulse and make sure you’re still breathing.
The McDonald Observatory, nestled in the heart of the Davis Mountains, is a beehive of astronomical research on a sprawling 640-acre of donated former ranch land. Home to the world’s 5th largest telescope, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, the facilities are boasted to be the most productive observatory in the world.
According to our tour guide, Caroline, the Observatory was the financial brainchild of Paris, Texas banker William J. McDonald. When he died in 1926, he left his entire estate to the University of Texas at Austin to build a first-class astronomy research center. But at the time the university did not have an astronomy department.
As a result, the University of Texas collaborated with the University of Chicago and in 1939, when the 82-inch telescope was completed at McDonald Observatory, astronomers from the University of Chicago would ride the train from Chicago to Alpine, Texas. They would get a ride to the Observatory and spend days and weeks at a time living in the telescope dome conducting research. At that time, the 82-inch telescope was the 2nd largest in the world.
In the 1960s, the University of Texas added an astronomy department at their Austin campus and took over the research at the Observatory. In 1968, the 107-inch Harlan J. Smith telescope was dedicated. The telescope cost $6.5 million to build and is still in operation today. While on the 90-minute guided tour of the Observatory, you’ll have the opportunity to stand at the top of the dome and watch the telescope swivel above you.
The 435-ton dome also rotates to place the door opening where astronomers want the telescope pointed.
In 1997, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope was completed and dedicated. The mirror used in this telescope to reflect light from the heavenly bodies is 433 inches across and is made up of 91 mirror segments. In meters, the mirror is 10 by 11 but only 9.2 meters can be used, making this the 5th largest telescope in the world, although the actual mirror size makes it the largest.
The telescope was built by funds raised by former Texas Lt. Governor Bill Hobby and Robert Eberly, a Penn State benefactor. The design for the telescope came from Penn State University. The two men were able to get Stanford and two German universities involved in the $20 million project.
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope will be used in the first major experiment astronomers are planning to conduct to understand dark energy. The project is called HETDEX, or the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment. According to a website devoted to the project, the experiment will use the telescope and a set of spectrographs to map out the three-dimensional position of one million galaxies.
The project will take three years and will collect data on at least one million galaxies. The data will provide astronomers with the largest map ever produced of the universe and will give them information on things like how fast the universe was expanding at different times in its history, according to www.hetdex.org.
In addition to the telescope domes that McDonald Observatory visitors are taken to, guests also browse the Frank. N. Bash Visitor’s Center, which offers a museum-like exhibit, gift shop, theater and Star Date café. Before leaving on the guided tour, visitors are treated to a welcome video in the theater and a solar presentation made by their tour guide.
According to our tour guide, Caroline, the McDonald Observatory is the darkest astronomical observatory in the United States. With all the research being done at night, the observatory on the mountain has no light pollution from neighboring cities or urban areas. Other factors that make the Observatory popular among astronomers are the altitude, clear nights and the southern sky, which allows them to see more stars.
For some of you it’s probably been awhile since you’ve heard facts like how far the sun is from earth (93 million miles) or how hot the sun’s core is (30 million degrees) or that stars move from east to west. When the guided tour was over, I was stuffed with information.
The Observatory also offers the Star Party Pass, which includes a telescope viewing, constellation tour and indoor astronomy programs. These tours are held Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evenings at dusk.
The Twilight Program takes place 90 minutes prior to the Star Party and includes activities in the theater, classroom or outdoor amphitheater.
For directions, pricing and more information, visit www.mcdonaldobservatory.org.
Editor’s Note: This is a weekly column featuring area summer activities. What you read about here, the author has done! If you have an idea or suggestion, please contact Holly Wise at wiseholly1@gmail.com.