A Member Society of
The Southwest Region of the Astronomical League
Bringing Amateur Astronomy to the World
Texas Star Party 2002:
McDonald Observatory -
Fort Davis, TX
The New Visitor Center at McDonald Observatory
by Ed Flaspoehler, AAAA
The 24th Annual Texas Star Party was again hosted on the magnificent Prude Ranch, a 3500 acre mile-high guest ranch located six miles northwest of Fort Davis, Texas, in the shadow of McDonald University.
Attendance this year was limited to a maximum of 650, to prevent overcrowding of
Ranch facilities, and the final attendance was announced to be only 595. TSP week this year was May
5-12, 2002.
The Road to McDonald Observatory
The New Visitor Center
The View from the Patio
The Main Lobby
Star Light, Star Bright,
First Star I See Today ...
A Close Look at Our Own Star - The Sun
A trip to the
Visitor Center at McDonald Observatory is a popular activity during the annual
Texas Star Party. Not only are regular bus trips scheduled from the Prude Ranch
for TSP visitors, but McDonald Observatory is a staunch supporter of TSP: TSP
participants who take the scheduled tour are given a full inside tour of the big
telescopes at McDonald.
It its original charter, McDonald observatory is mandated
to provide opportunities for public observing on a regular basis. Thus, for many
years, McDonald Observatory, through its Visitor Center, has provided weekly
observing sessions for the general public from the parking lot of the old
visitor center. There are also monthly observing sessions on the 107-inch
telescope by advance reservation only.
This year, just in time for the Texas Star Party,
McDonald Observatory opened its new Visitor Center to the public. TSP attendees
were thus among the first visitors to the new facility. The new installation it is quite spacious and well
done, and even has a "gourmet" snack bar. They have an especially
beautiful spectroscope projecting a solar spectrum onto the wall that is quite
spectacular. But overall, the exhibits are aimed more at kids than adults.
I joined the Friends of McDonald
Observatory for the AAAA.
The Texas Star Party is the Annual Convention of the
Southwest Region of the Astronomical League,
sponsored by SWRAL and hosted by TSP, Inc.
Click HERE
to Read Our Report on TSP 2003
Click HERE
to Read Our Report on TSP 2002
Click HERE
to Read Our Report on TSP 2001
Click HERE
for TSP 2003 Observing Programs
Click HERE
for TSP 2001 Observing Programs
Click HERE
for TSP 2000 Observing Programs
Click HERE
for TSP 1999 Observing Programs
The Southwest Region of the Astronomical League
is
made up of 28 member societies of the Astronomical League in the
states of Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
Join the AAAA's
SWRAL Newsgroup
Hosted by Yahoo Groups and the American
Association of Amateur Astronomers
The purpose of the SWRAL Yahoo! Newsgroup, hosted by the American
Association of Amateur Astronomers, is to create a forum where
members of SWRAL clubs can share ideas and experiences, and just get
to know each other. If you belong to one of the member societies of the Southwest Region of the Astronomical League,
or just want to know more about what is going on in this part of the
Astronomical League, please
join us as we share ideas about our region and what we can do to
encourage more communication between clubs.
AAAA
A Member Society of The Southwest Region
of the
Astronomical League
Bringing Amateur Astronomy to the World
The American Association of Amateur Astronomers is a member
society of the Astronomical League. Based in Plano, TX, and with a worldwide membership, including
15% of its members in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, AAAA
is proud to be one of the ten largest clubs in the Astronomical League, and the
second largest club in the Southwest Region.
