Locke is a companion to one at the South African Astronomical Observatory in Sutherland, and was built by Halfmann Teleskoptechnik. The 1.2 m (47 in) Monitoring Network of Telescopes (MONET) North Telescope on Mt.The two peaks also host a number of other instruments: Locke Ī 0.9 m (36 in) telescope, formerly used for research, is now used for visitor programs. 0.8 m (30 in) large format imaging telescope on Mt.2.1 m (82 in) Otto Struve Telescope on Mt.10 m (390 in) Hobby-Eberly Telescope on Mt.Smith Telescope (right).Ĭurrently, the observatory operates four research telescopes at its West Texas site: Director Taft Armandroff currently serves as Vice Chair to the GMT Board of Directors, and has served as Chair.ĭomes of the 2.1 m Otto Struve Telescope (left) and 2.7 m Harlan J. McDonald Observatory administrators, scientists, and engineers are heavily involved in the endeavor. However, its cost was about 20% that of other similarly-sized telescopes in use today due to its optimization for spectroscopy.Īdditionally, The University of Texas at Austin is a founding partner of the international collaboration to build the Giant Magellan Telescope. As of 2019, after upgrades the HET is tied with the Keck Telescopes as the second or third largest telescope in the world. 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. The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), dedicated in late 1997, is located on the summit of Mt. Locke, accessed by Spur 78, is the highest point on Texas highways. The Otto Struve Telescope, dedicated in 1939, was the first large telescope built at the observatory. 1963)Įlectric motors and position sensors at the Otto Struve Telescope at the McDonald Observatory, Texas. The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment, or HETDEX, is a multi-year undertaking to decode the nature of dark energy. Research today at the McDonald Observatory encompasses a wide variety of topics and projects, including the search for and understanding of planetary systems, stars and stellar spectroscopy, the interstellar medium, extragalactic astronomy, and theoretical astronomy. McDonald Observatory was operated under contract by The University of Chicago until the 1960s, when control was transferred to The University of Texas at Austin under the direction of Harlan J. The then-unnamed Otto Struve Telescope was dedicated on May 5, 1939, and at that time was the second largest telescope in the world. The provision of the will was challenged by McDonald's relatives, but after a long legal fight, the university received about $800,000 from the estate and construction began at Mt. Edwin Hockaday Fowlkes, step-son of the land's original owner John Chandler Prude, donated the land to the University of Texas to build the observatory. McDonald Observatory was originally endowed by the Texas banker William Johnson McDonald (1844–1926), who left about $1 million - the bulk of his fortune - to The University of Texas at Austin to endow an astronomical observatory.
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