A Trip to the Observatory

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take a trip to an observatory to use the telescope? In February 2006, astronomer Travis Metcalfe was granted 7 nights of observing time on one of the telescopes at McDonald Observatory in west Texas, as part of his research to learn about the insides of stars. Come along for the ride in this 5-minute video presentation: Find out why observatories are built in remote locations, where the astronomers sleep and eat while they are on the mountain, and how they spend their time at the telescope.