THE McDONALD OBSERVATORY
FORT DAVIS, TEXAS

aerial view

 The McDonald Observatory complex is located 450 miles west of Austin in the Davis Mountains, seventeen miles from Ft. Davis,Texas. The road leading to the two closer telescopes on Mount Locke is the highest point on the Texas Highways (6791 feet) and the night time skies are one of the darkest areas in the continental United States.
At present, there are four operating telescopes: 2.7-meter, 2.1-meter, 0.9-meter, and .76-meter reflectors which reside on Mount Locke in the foreground. A giant new telescope, the Spectroscopic Survey Telescope, seen on Mount Folkes in the background, will be in operation in the fall of 1999.

 TELESCOPE DOME IMAGES
HET Dome

 The Hobby-Eberly is the third largest telescope in the world. This image was shot from a small plane (see below) in the summer of 1998.

 This photograph was made from the catwalk of the 82-inch Otto Struve telescope in 1993.
Volcanic ash is visible in the sky giving a magenta tone to the late afternoon sky.

 This photograph was made from the 107" catwalk on the same day as the above image.

 TELESCOPE IMAGES
 HET Mirrors

 The Hobby-Eberly primary mirror is made of 91 hexagonal segments that form a spherical mirror spanning 432 inches (11 meters). The above image was made at the telescope's dedication in October 1998.
 

 The 107-inch telescope saw first light in 1969, was built as a joint project with NASA . 
This image was taken while standing on the edge of the dome in 1993.


 THE CREW FOR THE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY.

THIS IS THE PLANE WE USED FOR OUR EARLIER AERIALS IN 1992 AND 1998. THE PILOT WAS FRITZ KAHL, WHO IS ALSO THE MAYOR OF MARFA, TEXAS. I AM THE ONE WITH MY ARMS CROSSED. THE PERSON IN THE BACK IS TIM JONES, ART DIRECTOR, STARDATE MAGAZINE.

FOR THE AERIALS IN AUGUST WE FLEW IN A HELICOPTER PILOTED BY FRANÇOIS BABEL, OWNER OF SWISS AVIATION, LTD. OF SANTA TERESA, NEW MEXICO. I AM ON THE RIGHT. THE PERSON ON THE LEFT IS THE SAME STATE EMPLOYEE, TIM JONES.

THE PICTURE WAS MADE BY BILL WREN
OF McDONALD OBSERVATORY.

 If you are interested in visiting McDonald Observatory
check out their Public Information website @

http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/visitors/


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