News: Astronomy
Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
McDonald Observatory
Bass Foundation Gift Strengthens Outreach at McDonald Observatory
Updates to Field Station Network member McDonald Observatory will be in the Frank N. Bash Visitors Center and improve and expand the visitor experience.

McDonald Observatory
Giant Magellan Telescope Enclosure Ready for Construction
When completed in the early 2030s, the 213-foot-tall enclosure will be one of the largest mechanized buildings ever constructed.

McDonald Observatory
Galaxies Actively Forming in Early Universe Caught Feeding on Cold Gas
James Webb Space Telescope images reveal three galaxies that may be actively forming when the universe was only 400 to 600 million years old.

Celebrating the 2024 College of Natural Sciences Dean’s Honored Graduates
Meet the graduating seniors being recognized for excellence in research, academics and improving the community.

McDonald Observatory
Astronomers Uncover Methane Emission on a Cold Brown Dwarf
The research team used the James Webb Space Telescope to make a surprising finding about a cold, distant world.

Is Cosmology in Crisis?
A panel of physicists and astronomers grapple with possible cracks in our modern creation myth, the standard model of cosmology.

NASA Awards Fellowships to Two UT Austin Postdocs
Jed McKinney and Cheng-Han Hsieh will pursue independent research in the formation of galaxies and solar systems.

McDonald Observatory
Astronomers Use James Webb Space Telescope to Probe an Extreme Starburst Galaxy
Messier 82, 12 million light-years away, is relatively compact but hosts a frenzy of star formation activity.

McDonald Observatory
UT Astronomy Graduate Student Receives Fellowship to Study Exoplanets
The Heising-Simons Foundation has awarded Quang Tran, Ph.D. candidate in UT astronomy, one of its eight prestigious 51 Pegasi b Fellowships.

UT Researcher Leading Project for New NASA Space Telescope
UT’s new Cosmic Frontier Center and McDonald Observatory will play key roles in aiding research into chemically young galaxies.
