The W.J. McDonald Observatory sits on Mount Locke like
two bright, white eggs surrounded by the dark greens and browns of the Davis
Mountains of West Texas. In fact, mountaineers in Mexico, a hundred miles away,
use the buildings as a landmark and call the mountain “la mounta�a con
dos huevos” — the mountain with two eggs.
When it was completed in 1939, the first telescope at the McDonald
Observatory was a marvel of human engineering. The 82-inch telescope was the
second largest in the world.
The road to building the observatory was as steep and rocky as the
6,809-foot climb to the top of Mt. Locke. When William J. McDonald, a Paris,
Texas banker, died in 1926, he left the bulk of his estate to the university to
build an observatory. After McDonald’s family fought through the courts for a
share, the university was left with $800,000. It was enough to build and
operate the observatory; the University of Chicago supplied the staff.
In 1969, a 107-inch telescope was added to the mountain. This observatory
played an important role in the space program in experiments in sending lasers
to mirrors placed on the moon.
A third telescope, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), is being built on Mt.
Fowlkes to the north of the other two domes. When it is completed next summer,
the 430-inch telescope will propel the McDonald Observatory’s telescope to the
second largest in the world again. The HET is the first of the new generation
of telescopes. The size of the telescope refers to the size of the mirror that
reflects the image. Instead of one large mirror, HET’s mirror is made up of 91
hexagonal mirrors.
Thousands of visitors drive the highest public road in Texas to see the
telescope every year. Tours begin at 9:30am (in the summer) and 2pm in front of
the 82-inch telescope building. The original building is not open to the
public, but the 107-inch telescope is the largest telescope in the world open
to the public until HET is opened.
Besides offering a fun shopping experience in the gift shop, the visitor
center provides educational programs. At 11am and 3:30pm the video viewing room
is connected to a 16-inch telescope to view the sun. Star parties are held on
Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday nights from Memorial Day through Labor Day
(9:30pm in May, June, and July). Call the visitor center for information,
9am-5pm, at
915/426-3640 or http://pio.as.utexas.edu.
The McDonald Observatory is 450 miles from Austin. Gas, food, and lodging are
available in Ft. Davis (17 miles south), Alpine (40 miles), and Marfa (38
miles). Davis Mountains State Park and Indian Lodge are 14 miles from the
observatory and Balmorhea State Park is 36 miles north of Ft. Davis. (Note:
Balmorhea State Park has cabin vacancies every weekend in August.) For
information, call the chamber of commerce, 915/426-3015.
Coming up this weekend…
Cedar Chopper Festival in Cedar Park honors with music and food the days when
the evergreens were the area’s primary industry, June 14-15. 512/258-8007.
Tour of Ponds explores man-made ponds around Austin to benefit children’s
charities ($5), June 15. 896-6377.
Coming up…
Texas State Bluegrass Festival is at Trade Days Park in Canton, June 18-22.
903/567-6004.
Petroglyph Tour explores San Angelo State Park, June 22. 915/949-4757.
This article appears in June 14 • 1996 and June 14 • 1996 (Cover).
