Fort Davis: Eyes on the stars

FORT DAVIS Stephen Odewahn shunned the invitation to the observatory Super Bowl party. There were gamma ray bursts to detect.

Odewahn is a resident astronomer at McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis. He spends nights checking monitors at the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, the newest of the observatory's four research instruments, which became functional in 1999.

Through the years, Odewahn has witnessed a number of gamma-ray bursts, in which stars collapse into a black hole. The bursts actually occurred billions of years ago in galaxies so far away that light is just now reaching the earth, he said.

In those cases, Odewahn is the first human to see evidence of these stars. He must act quickly to make an image of the burst, before sight of the star is lost for good.

"The initial flash of gamma rays can last just a few minutes," he said. "With the telescope, we want to locate the optical flash from the gamma ray burst."

LOOKING FOR FUN

To get from Hobby-Eberly, atop 6,659-foot Mount Fowlkes to the 82-inch Otto Struve Telescope, you have to drive down a twisting, sloped road. Then you must drive back up Mount Locke, elevation 6,792 feet.

And, so you don't flash the researchers, you have to do it with only parking lights on. And do it in the darkest area in the continental United States.

The 82-inch telescope, the first built at the observatory in 1939, is a stark contrast to the $35 million Hobby-Eberly. While the newer instrument uses mirrors and large spectrographs to study the heavens, the 82-inch resembles a bridge, probably because it was built by a bridge company.

On a winter night at the end of January though, the people using the telescope find it modern enough. They paid $75 each to be part of a Special Viewing Night at the University of Texas-owned facility.

"I really love it when people come here and appreciate our sky," said Judy Meyer, a worker at McDonald's visitor center who assists with the viewing.

Though temperatures were at 30 degrees and falling, few complaints could be heard from the guests as they looked through the gap in the dome to see countless stars above.

Each of them waited for a chance to see a spiral galaxy, 31 million light years away.

Mike Holder of Austin has been coming to the observatory for 40 years. He said it's worth braving the cold to see the stars.

"Every little kid dreams about becoming an astronomer or an astronaut or whatever," he said. "This is a chance to see some neat stuff."

THE BIG TELESCOPE

Before a night at McDonald's 107-inch Harlan J. Smith Telescope, which also sits high on Mount Locke, astronomer Phillip MacQueen gives some researchers a tour of the Hobby-Eberly.

It takes a staff of about 20 to run the instrument. Astronomers from around the world apply for time to use it.

"It does a lot of things very well, as opposed to a $100 million telescope, which does everything very well," MacQueen said.

The telescope features 100 tons of moving parts, MacQueen said. Every few minutes a simulated hawk call emits over the structure, designed to frighten birds, whose droppings can be devastating to the aluminum surface of the telescope's mirrors.

The telescope is often used for searching for planets in other solar systems.

"This is sufficiently sensitive that it can measure the speed of a star to a few meters a second," MacQueen said.

WHY THEY'RE HERE

But the observatory must keep evolving.

Much of the work being conducted now at Hobby-Eberly involves measuring "dark energy," a mysterious force causing the expansion of the universe to speed up. To better track the phenomenon, renovations are planned that will make the device a $50 million telescope.

"It costs money to operate the telescope, and there's always a discovery to be made," Hobby-Eberly site manager Robert Calder said. "This is the science business."

For a place that overlooks much of West Texas, the observatory is secluded. Many of the researchers reside at homes on the property.

And though his background is as a military accountant, Don Wallace and his wife were lured to live here, where he serves as site superintendent.

"We were just awestruck with the beauty out here and said, ‘What a great place,' " he said.

While the Davis Mountains may have attracted him for different reasons, Odewahn also knows this is the place to be.

"I've always wanted to be an astronomer, ever since I was a child," he said. "Living where I can make observations is very exciting to me."

Want to go?

>> What: The Frank N. Bash Visitors Center at McDonald Observatory.

>> Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

>> Cost: Adults, $8 for a daytime pass, $10 for Star Parties each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday night and $15 for a combined pass; children, $7 for a daytime pass, $8 for Star Parties and $12 combined.

>> Call: 432-426-3640.