Facts about McDonald Observatory
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Lunar laser ranging experiments conducted at McDonald Observatory have precisely measured the Earth-Moon distance by bouncing lasers off retroreflectors left by Apollo astronauts.
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Since 1907, McDonald Observatory has housed the Otto Struve Spectroscopic Binary Program, one of the longest continuous astronomical surveys spanning over 115 years of stellar observations.
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Fort Davis, Texas hosts McDonald Observatory's visitor center, which attracts over 60,000 guests annually to view celestial objects through public telescopes.
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McDonald Observatory operates the 2.7-meter Harlan J. Smith Telescope equipped with a high-resolution spectrograph that measures stellar radial velocities to detect gravitational wobbles from orbiting exoplanets.
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Astronomers using McDonald Observatory's telescopes discovered approximately 300 exoplanets through radial velocity measurements since the 1990s.
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In 1939, University of Chicago astronomer Otto Struve selected the Davis Mountains location for McDonald Observatory specifically because of its exceptional atmospheric conditions and minimal light pollution.
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At 4,715 feet elevation in the Davis Mountains, McDonald Observatory sits at one of North America's darkest observing sites, designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2015.
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The 107-inch Harlan J. Smith Telescope at McDonald Observatory in Texas began operations in 1968 and remains one of the largest optical telescopes in North America.