page_title: McDonald Observatory
section_title: Observatory
hierarchical_section_title: McDonald Observatory / Observatory
context_page_description: The McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near the unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional facilities on Mount Fowlkes, approximately 1.3 kilometers to the northeast. The observatory is part of the University of Texas at Austin. It is an organized research unit of the College of Natural Sciences.
  The observatory produces StarDate, a daily syndicated radio program consisting of short segments related to astronomy that airs on both National Public Radio and commercial radio stations — about 400 affiliates in all.
context_section_description: 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 2,070 m (6,790 ft). 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 (HET), dedicated in late 1997, is located on the summit of Mt. Fowlkes at 2,030 m (6,660 ft) 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.
caption: Dome of the 10 m Hobby-Eberly Telescope. It houses one of the largest optical telescopes in the world.
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