continued from page 21
spectroscope, the telescope continues to con-
tribute to many first class research papers. The
most dramatic program of this telescope was in
lunar laser ranging to determine the distance to
reflectors left on the moon by astronauts to
within a few inches.
Over the years, other telescopes and astro-
nomical equipment have been added.
Currently, there are four research telescopes:
the original 83-inch Otto Struve telescope; the
107-inch Harlan J. Smith telescope added in
1968; a 31-inch telescope formerly used for
research now used for visitor programs, as are a
number of smaller telescopes, and the 360-inch
Hobby-Eberly telescope added on adjacent
Mount Fowlkes (6,600 feet elevation) in 1997.
This massive telescope, referred to as the HET,
is operated jointly by the University of Texas at
Austin, Pennsylvania State University, Ludwig
Maximilians University of Munich and Georg-
August University of Göttingen. It is now tied
with the South African Large Telescope as the
fourth largest telescope in the world.
Other specialized equipment includes a 47-
inch MONET telescope, a member of the
planned world-wide Monitoring Network of
Telescopes, a companion to one at the South
African Astronomical Observatory; the
McDonald Laser Ranging System’s 30-inch tel-
escope to perform satellite ranging and lunar
laser ranging; the 20-inch Ritchey-Chretien
reflector owned by Boston University and used
for optical aeronomy, the study of the upper
region of the atmosphere, and the 16-inch
Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment
reflector used to search for the optical signature
of gamma-ray bursts.
One recent discovery at McDonald
Observatory was made by the Hobby-Eberly
Telescope Massive Galaxy Survey of a massive
black hole in the small NGC 1277 galaxy some
220 million light years away, in the constellation
Perseus. "This is a really odd galaxy," said team
member Karl Gebhardt of the University of
Texas at Austin. "It’s almost all black hole. This
could be the first object in a new class of galaxy
black hole systems." The massive black hole, as
large as 17 billion suns, makes up some 14 per-
cent of the galaxy’s mass rather than the usual
0.1 percent.
The observatory also provides housing for
certain essential personnel and their families, a
dormitory and food service for visiting
astronomers, maintenance shops and firefight-
ing equipment. According to Frank Cianciolo,
senior program coordinator at the observatory,
some 80 people actually live on site, with a staff
of some 50 to 60 people.
Festivities for the 75th anniversary are shap-
ing up with a call for artifacts, letters and photo-
graphs for a traveling exhibit relating to the
observatory’s history. A number of free anniver-
sary events to be announced are planned for
local residents, beginning in August and run-
ning into next year. These events will include
special viewing nights on research telescopes in
August, September and October and an open
house on April 26, 2014.
In addition to the astronomical research
functions, McDonald Observatory offers many
educational opportunities for the public. The
Frank N. Bash Visitors’ Center, the observato-
ry’s public outreach center, houses a number of
displays, several of them hands-on, an indoor
theater where one can view live solar activity
and other programs, a gift shop, a café and an
outdoor telescope park where visitors at the
evening star parties can view the heavens under
some of the darkest skies in the continental
United States. The star parties are offered on
Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evenings (reser-
vations required). Drop-in prices will increase
June 1. Other activities open to the public
include twilight programs, guided tours and
special viewing nights for visitors to look
through the Smith or 36-inch telescopes.
Teacher workshops are offered during the sum-
mer months. For reservations, rates and sched-
ules go to mcdonaldobservatory.org. Additional
information is available by calling 877-984-
7827 or 432-426-3640 or at info@mcdonaldob-
servatory.org.
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