AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new exhibit at the Texas Science and Natural History Museum is bringing the McDonald Observatory to the University of Texas campus.
The “Big Eye on Dark Skies” exhibit opened this week on the third floor of the museum, bringing with it a scale model of one of the world’s most powerful telescopes.
The Hobby-Eberly telescope is powered by a 10-meter wide mirror, capable of collecting light from 11 billion years ago. The mirror in the model, 7% the size of the real one, collects light from canned bulbs hanging from a darkened ceiling.
“It is telling the story about this amazing, very large telescope that is out in Fort Davis,” said Carolyn Connerat, managing director of the museum.
Bringing the stars to the museum
Located on the Texas Wildlife floor of the museum, the team said it is a perfect fit because it’s studying the very stuff that makes us all.
‘Mini-moon’ will start orbit of Earth later this week
“This telescope is located out in the Davis mountains, which is technically called a sky island, and so that’s where there’s a lot of wildlife,” Connerat said…