McDonald Observatory

📣 The Board of Directors for the @giantmagellan Telescope has elected @mcdonaldobs Director Taft Armandroff as its new chair! Learn about this exciting leadership transition: ow.ly/UZ4S50XmBlL [Taft Armandroff (left), Walter Massey (center) and Brian Schmidt (right)]

The @NSF has awarded Graduate Research Fellowships & honorable mentions to 43 Texas Science undergrads, grad students & recent alumni this spring. Kudos to all of these exceptional students! #TexasScience #GraduateEducation #STEMEducation cns.utexas.edu/news/accolades…

This is not a cool album cover - Though it totally could be! Created by @UTAustin astronomer Jed McKinney, this image depicts wavelengths associated with molecules present ten billion years ago - And they might help solve a riddle about our universe! 🔗 ow.ly/NzZS50YThfg

✨ WOW!! ✨ Y'all's generosity has us stammering! 💖 🚀 We surpassed our fundraising goal - And in record time! Thank you SO MUCH for supporting @stardate during @UTAustin's 40 Hours for the Forty Acres. 🤘We're proud to be part of the Longhorn nation & excited for the future!

CosmicAI is excited to participate in the annual 40 for Forty campaign! We’re raising funds to support paid summer research internships for undergrads exploring AI + astronomy. Campaign ends April 30th at 10pm! Donate now! give.utexas.edu/schools/Univer… #UT40for40

UT's 40 for Forty kicks off tomorrow, Wed April 29, at 6 AM! 🤘 #UT4040 is @UTAustin's annual university-wide fundraising event. Consider helping UT’s @mcdonaldobs raise $10k for @stardate Radio & Magazine during this Texas-sized annual giving day! ow.ly/NwhC50YRj1t

🤘@UTAustin's 40 Hours for the Forty Acres is here! 🎙️Did You Know @stardate is the longest running national radio science feature in the United States?! 📻 Help keep @stardate on-air & in print during #UT4040! 🌟 @mcdonaldobs sticker when you give $5+ !  ow.ly/ZkMN50YRlhB

The University of Texas at Austin: Astronomers Thought the Early Universe Was Full of Hydrogen. Now They’ve Found It. hetdex.org/astronomers-th…

If you consider an eccentric desire for influence as a potential disaster, then you must spend time thinking about the stars - That’s because five words in that sentence are RELATED to the stars. 🙃 Join us this week to see what we mean — on StarDate! ow.ly/CM7c50YQnA9

“‘Dark energy’ is the phrase we use to represent our ignorance of how the universe is expanding, but it may not be dark. It may not be energy.” - @UTAustin's Dr. Karl Gebhardt, discussing the work of the HETDEX team, in a @nytimes article - out today! ow.ly/JIf850YO73g

We loved celebrating the night sky with neighbors, friends & visitors from all over during Dark Skies Festival - And hosting @nytimes guests! ow.ly/CXZg50YO3sk ✨ @mcdonaldobs is a world class research unit of @UTAustin! 🤘 #darkskies #darkenergy #HETDEX #WhatStartsHere

Two of Jupiter’s big moons are studies in contrast. Io recently produced the biggest volcanic outburst ever in the solar system, while Europa has a global ocean crusted in ice. Join us for Jupiter’s moons, a meteor shower, and more — on StarDate! ow.ly/mjfg50YMPBJ

The Lyrid meteor shower should be at its best the next couple of nights. Even at its peak, the shower produces no more than a dozen or so meteors per hour. But the Moon won’t get in the way, so if you have good weather and a good viewing spot, it’s worth a look!

Hoy marcamos un hito para la ciencia en Chile Firmamos una alianza con @gorecoquimbo para impulsar la astronomía y posicionar a la región a nivel internacional. Con apoyo de @exploratorium, crearemos el primer centro nacional de visitantes y educación en astronomía. Conoce más en coquimbo.giantmagellan.org #Astronomía #CienciaEnChile

We’re excited to share an exclusive look at one of our next-generation science instruments, the Giant Magellan Telescope Large Earth Finder, or G-CLEF. Join us at the Giant Magellan Summit on April 14 to hear from Dr. Andrew Szentgyorgyi of @CenterForAstro. He’ll share how G-CLEF will enable us to search for and study the atmospheres of Earth-like planets, and what’s next in instrument fabrication. Register now: summit.giantmagellan.org

Next week: The Giant Magellan Summit on April 14. Join scientists, engineers, and global partners for a behind-the-scenes look at the future of the observatory during International Dark Sky Week. See what’s next and register now: summit.giantmagellan.org #DarkSkyWeek #IDSW

✨Livestream - TONIGHT!! ✨

Join us at the Giant Magellan Summit on April 14 to hear from Jeff Kimberly, CEO of @IngersollMT for a manufacturing update on our telescope mount. The mount will support and protect seven of the world’s largest mirrors as they track celestial objects across the night sky. Register now: summit.giantmagellan.org #DarkSkyWeek #IDSW

10 more spots remain! AI Boot Camp For Astronomers Register today (by May 1st)! Presented by CosmicAI and @TACC Location: Pickle Research Campus, UT Austin June 1st-5th 2026 cosmicai.org/astroai-boot-c… @NSF @SimonsFdn

It’s the last day to submit a question to our experts. Have you registered? Step inside the world of the Giant Magellan Telescope — where engineering, science, and global collaboration are shaping the future of astronomy. Join us at the Giant Magellan Summit to get a behind-the-scenes look at progress toward first light in the 2030s. Register now: summit.giantmagellan.org #DarkSkyWeek #IDSW