In Part 1, we began meandering through West Texas and left off in Davis Mountains State Park. On our last night at the park, we took an evening trip to the McDonald Observatory.
McDonald Observatory
Up the winding road of Mount Locke, at 6700 feet, the McDonald Observatory sits at one of the darkest places in the continental US and welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year.
Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, the McDonald Observatory, part of the University of Texas at Austin, holds a Star Party. On this Tuesday night in January, more than a hundred of us sat bundled in coats and blankets on the cold amphitheater benches and looked up. Our Star Host was both enthusiastic and dry, both excited about sharing his knowledge and concerned about the future of science. We were only introduced to him in the dark. I could see the silhouette of his hair and his tall build, and Kenny and I both wondered if our Star Host wasn’t P. Allen Smith.
He cast his green laser pointer skyward and taught us how to view the night sky. We found the North Star, a satellite, Gemini, the major and minor dippers, new stars, and old stars. On many nights thereafter, Kenny and I have continued to stand under the dark skies of New Mexico and Arizona and point out all the new clues and constellations: the square of stars leads to Polaris, Orion’s Belt to the nebula, the large drawn out “V” to the Andromeda Galaxy.
Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, the McDonald Observatory, part of the University of Texas at Austin, holds a Star Party. On this Tuesday night in January, more than a hundred of us sat bundled in coats and blankets on the cold amphitheater benches and looked up. Our Star Host was both enthusiastic and dry, both excited about sharing his knowledge and concerned about the future of science. We were only introduced to him in the dark. I could see the silhouette of his hair and his tall build, and Kenny and I both wondered if our Star Host wasn’t P. Allen Smith.
He cast his green laser pointer skyward and taught us how to view the night sky. We found the North Star, a satellite, Gemini, the major and minor dippers, new stars, and old stars. On many nights thereafter, Kenny and I have continued to stand under the dark skies of New Mexico and Arizona and point out all the new clues and constellations: the square of stars leads to Polaris, Orion’s Belt to the nebula, the large drawn out “V” to the Andromeda Galaxy.