News: McDonald Observatory
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.
![Aerial view of an astronomical observatory set atop a mountain](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/mcdonald_observatory-112.jpg)
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.
![A telescope dome under a starry sky at night with an open door and telescope visible inside](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/gmt_3x2.jpg)
Texas Field Station Network Catalyzes Collaborations Across Field Sites
The recently announced largest-ever gift to the college is helping to bring new research synergies.
![Natural landscape with orange brown grasses in the foreground, trees in the middle distance and a mountai top with telescope domes in the distance](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/ts_mcdonald_observatory-20_1200x800.jpg)
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.
![A swirl of blue-white gas and dust against a black background](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/early_gas.jpg)
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.
![A planet-like object has many rings deep in space, with a pronounced ring at its top.](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/brown_dwarf_w1935.jpg)
Is Cosmology in Crisis?
A panel of physicists and astronomers grapple with possible cracks in our modern creation myth, the standard model of cosmology.
![A dramatic spiral galaxy with orange and red arms and a light blue center](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/ngc_628_jwst_1200x800.png)
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.
![Portraits of two scientists](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/nasa_hubble_fellows_thumbnail_v2_2400x1600.png)
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.
![A galaxy with a ban of stars, bright spots and cosmic clouds appear from the blackness of space.](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/m82-3-2.jpg)
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.
![A young scientist stands in a portico of an academic building](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/quang-1200x800.jpg)
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.
![This image shows the heart of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1097, as seen by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/galaxy_thumb.png)