Astro-Photography: McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, Texas

McDonald Observatory & the Milky Way

This image was taken with a Nikon D750 DSLR. Settings were: ISO 6400 FOCAL LENGTH 20.0 mm (20.0 mm in 35mm) APERTURE f/3.5, EXPOSURE TIME 20 DATE TAKEN 2016-08-04 22:41:52 This image was taken with an old 20mm Nikkor lens f/3.5 that I've had for a very long time. It rendered the stars pinpoint sharp. As David B. and I approached the McDonald Observatory and saw the sign "No Traffic" we were sure someone would come and run us off. We parked down and away from the telescope towers and tried not to use too much light in setting up the tripods and cameras. But no one came down and we captured some great images of the Milky Way with the telescope towers.

McDonald Observatory and Milky Way

This image was taken with a Nikon D750 DSLR. Settings were: ISO 6400 FOCAL LENGTH 20.0 mm (20.0 mm in 35mm) APERTURE f/3.5, EXPOSURE TIME 20 DATE TAKEN 2016-08-04 22:41:52 This image was taken with an old 20mm Nikkor lens f/3.5 that I've had for a very long time. It rendered the stars pinpoint sharp. As David B. and I approached the McDonald Observatory and saw the sign "No Traffic" we were sure someone would come and run us off. We parked down and away from the telescope towers and tried not to use too much light in setting up the tripods and cameras. But no one came down and we captured some great images of the Milky Way with the telescope towers.

Twilight at the McDonald Observatory

This image was taken with a Nikon D750 DSLR. Settings were: ISO 6400 FOCAL LENGTH 20.0 mm (20.0 mm in 35mm) APERTURE f/3.5, EXPOSURE TIME 20 DATE TAKEN 2016-08-04 22:41:52 This image was taken with an old 20mm Nikkor lens f/3.5 that I've had for a very long time. It rendered the stars pinpoint sharp. As David B. and I approached the McDonald Observatory and saw the sign "No Traffic" we were sure someone would come and run us off. We parked down and away from the telescope towers and tried not to use too much light in setting up the tripods and cameras. But no one came down and we captured some great images of the Milky Way with the telescope towers.

Milky Way at the McDonald Observatory

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Cloudy Night at McDonald Observatory

About a year later, we returned and found the skies cloudy and only the northern portion of the Milky Way was visible.

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McDonald Observatory & Night Sky on June 2, 2017

Our last day at Ft. Davis and it began with rain. We were going to blow it off when I woke up at 1:00am and found that the rain had stopped and the sky was clearing. We made the 20 mile drive up to Ft. Davis and made these images before sunup. It was still a little cloudy.

McDonald Observatory & Night Sky on June 2, 2017

Our last day at Ft. Davis and it began with rain. We were going to blow it off when I woke up at 1:00am and found that the rain had stopped and the sky was clearing. We made the 20 mile drive up to Ft. Davis and made these images before sunup. It was still a little cloudy.

McDonald Observatory & Night Sky on June 2, 2017

Our last day at Ft. Davis and it began with rain. We were going to blow it off when I woke up at 1:00am and found that the rain had stopped and the sky was clearing. We made the 20 mile drive up to Ft. Davis and made these images before sunup. It was still a little cloudy.

McDonald Observatory & Night Sky on June 2, 2017

Our last day at Ft. Davis and it began with rain. We were going to blow it off when I woke up at 1:00am and found that the rain had stopped and the sky was clearing. We made the 20 mile drive up to Ft. Davis and made these images before sunup. It was still a little cloudy.