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Rocket reaches for the stars.
The next stop was one Texas-sized observatory. The domes of the McDonald Observatory are on
top of Mount Locke and Mount Fowlkes near Fort Davis. They were built here because the isolation
and elevation of this land made it the ideal location for viewing outer space.
The main story is highlighted in the light blue sections.
SCOPE This Out! features trivia from the places Rocket visits.

McDonald Observatory has three primary telescopes:
1. The Struve
(82” in diameter)
2. The Smith
(107” in diameter)
3. The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET)
(433” in diameter)

William Johnson McDonald, an amateur astronomer, gave a large portion of his estate to the University of Texas in 1926, so that the universe could be studied.
Stars aren't the only things that can
be seen in the skies above the Big
Bend area. About 40 miles from the
McDonald Observatory lies the town
of Marfa, Texas. For over 100 years,
people here have reported seeing
strange lights in the night sky.
These lights, known as the Marfa
Mystery Lights, have
baffled people
for decades...

Martians or Marfans...
Who knows?