It's our Birthday Month, and we're celebrating
🎉 85 Years of Discovery 🎉

- Check out SkyTips for May!
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The Moon will pass by a parade of planets in the dawn sky late this week, and we’ll have details. We’ll also talk about a protective “blanket” around Earth, a small discovery, and more — on StarDate!

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IGRINS (Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph) is headed home to @mconaldobs after a stop UT Austin - Learn about IGRINS' journey in the new May/June issue of StarDate Magazine - Subscribe to receive 6 issues/ yr, including the collectible Sky Almanac!
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🔭 Our next Telescope 101 workshop is just 3 weeks away!

Make travel plans if you're not local, these free classes are held at the Frank N. Bash Visitors Center at McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains of West Texas.

You can find out more & register here:
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This issue talks about IGRINS and its decade of globetrotting! 🤘

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A trip around the world would take a while, even in a passenger jet. But it’s the blink of an eye compared to the time it would take to go around a supergiant star.

Join us for a long, long trip, the birth of planets, & much more this week — on StarDate!
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The NASA Webb Telescope Telescope helped astronomers make an unexpected discovery - methane emission on a brown dwarf!
Contributing authors on this study include Caroline Morley, Melanie Rowland and Brianna Lacy of UT Austin! 🤘

Press release:
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#WhatStartsHere

Want more astronomy after the total solar eclipse? A model of the iconic Hobby-Eberly Telescope dome was in ATX at #InThePathOfTotality , thanks to our partnership with Simons Foundation, and you can visit the 10-meter telescope in person. Head to UT Austin’s McDonald Observatory!

Earth is headed through a ribbon of “comet dust” — debris that causes the Lyrid meteor shower. And some of that dust may have been found at the bottom of a river. Join us this week for details — on StarDate!

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Ever dreamed of working with the stars?
Check out our recent job postings! 💫

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Thank you for supporting us during the #UT40for40 campaign!
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Your generous gifts make our education and outreach efforts possible - We appreciate you so very much. 🤘

There's still time to help our #UT40for40 campaign! 🤘

Our education & outreach initiatives are 100% funded by donations & program fees- Your support helps us maintain McDonald Observatory as a resource for public astronomy & science education in Texas & beyond!

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A historical marker was just dedicated to honor the late banker & stargazer, William J. McDonald of Paris, TX. We're thrilled to kick off McDonald Observatory 85th anniversary celebrations (May 5, 2024) with such a lovely tribute to our namesake!

More here:
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Another groundbreaking astronomical project is taking place in the Atacama Desert in Chile!

Location sound familiar?

The Giant Magellan Telescope Telescope is under construction not too far away - check it out! 🤘

Last day of the trip home from the eclipse. We stopped in at McDonald Observatory and were not disappointed by the hospitality. Thanks for hosting us!