McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional facilities on Mount Fowlkes, approximately 1.3 kilometers (0.81 mi) to the northeast. The observatory is part of The University of Texas at Austin. It is an organized research unit of the College of Natural Sciences.
The observatory from the southeast. The Hobby–Eberly Telescope on Mt. Fowlkes (left) and the Harlan J. Smith and Otto Struve Telescopes on Mt. Locke (right).
McDonald Observatory
Dome of the 10 m Hobby-Eberly Telescope. It houses one of the largest optical telescopes in the world.
Electric motors and position sensors at the Otto Struve Telescope at the McDonald Observatory, Texas
Fort Davis is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,201 at the 2010 census, up from 1,050 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jeff Davis County.
Jeff Davis County Courthouse, located in Fort Davis
Dirks-Anderson Elementary School
Hotel Limpia (circa 1912)
Masonic Lodge
