In the summer of 2000, astronomers from McDonald Observatory discovered a new planet in a solar system only 10.5 light years from Earth. The planet is similar to Jupiter in its mass, orbital period, and distance from its star, Epsilon Eridani.

About 40 new planets have been discovered in recent years. McDonald Observatory, the official observatory of The University of Texas at Austin, has made three of these discoveries.

Since 1939, the remote West Texas site has provided a magnificent viewing area from which to conduct astronomy research and to educate the 130,000 annual visitors who journey there to gaze at the heavens.

Isolated by deserts and mountains, and populated by a close-knit community of single-minded devotees, UT's McDonald Observatory proves that in order to really see other worlds, you must first travel to the edge of this one.

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