The Stars At Night

Ethereal West Texas attraction among best places in U.S. to see the stars

The McDonald Observatory is among the country's top spots to stargaze.

Photo by Ethan Tweedie Photography, McDonald Observatory/Facebook

Dallasites have long traveled to West Texas to traverse the wilds of Big Bend, embrace the low-key vibes of Terlingua, and cool off in the springs of Balmorhea. We have also understood the magic of standing under the night sky at the McDonald Observatory, crawling through the dark night to take in one of the most beautiful celestial views on earth.

Now, it appears, the rest of the world is uncovering this not-so-hidden gem. A recent research report from U.K.-based travel website Kuoni named the McDonald Observatory, part of the University of Texas at Austin, the second best place to stargaze in the United States.

To determine the country's top 50 places to see stars, Kuoni analyzed "60 official Dark Sky areas and over 117 locations nationwide which offer the public access to high powered telescopes." The site then sifted through hundreds of TripAdvisor reviews to find the winners.

Located on Fort Davis, about 25 miles north of tourist destinations like Marfa and Alpine, the McDonald Observatory snagged the No. 2 spot behind Oregon University Observatory in Sunriver, Oregon.

"The reviewers of Texas’ McDonald observatory are blown away by the incredible amount of celestial phenomena they see at the location," Kuoni notes in its release.

Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, visitors head to the West Texas site for both Twilight and Star parties. During the Twilight parties, attendees sit in an amphitheater and are guided through the cosmos by an observatory staffer. Star events, which take place after dark, give visitors the opportunity to use high-powered telescopes in the McDonald's Rebecca Gale Telescope Park.

So, why stargazing? Kuoni says it's an activity that encapsulates much of what modern travelers look for in a vacation. "With travelers having more desire than ever to learn about the natural world, and a general trend in travelers looking to try local one-of-a-kind experiences, stargazing is set to become a super popular activity," notes a release.

Joining the Oregon University Observatory and McDonald Observatory in the top five are National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico; National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.; and Kitt Peak National Observatory Nightly Observing Program in Tuscon, Arizona.

The only other Texas spot on the list was the Fort Worth Noble Planetarium at No. 26.

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RESTORING THE ALAMO

Texas' iconic Alamo unearths bronze cannonball used in historic battle

Photo by Daniel Schwen/ CC BY-SA 4.0

The Alamo has unearthed a cannonball likely used in the original battle.

Most tourists don't realize it, but in addition to being one of the most-visited sites in the United States, the Alamo is also an active archeological site. And during its newest excavation, it unearthed a doozy — a fully-intact cannonball that can be traced back to Texas' most famous battle.

The Alamo first broke the news on Stories Bigger Than Texas: The Alamo Podcast. The artillery shell was discovered on March 5, 2026, a day before the 190th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo.

"I have chills now, just thinking about it," the Alamo's Director of Archaeology, Dr. Tiffany Lindley, told the podcast hosts. "March 5th is when we pulled it out of the ground. I don't think words can express the feelings that we all felt."

Alamo cannonball The cannonball is four pounds and made of solid bronze.Photo courtesy of the Alamo Trust

The four-pound, solid bronze cannonball was discovered approximately three feet below ground outside the Alamo Church. The dig’s layers of soil settled in a clearly visible pattern, allowing the archeologists to date the object with near certainty.“

"We can’t say with 100% certainty that it came from the Mexican Army, but I would say 99% because largely the Mexican Army is using bronze cannonballs and largely the Texans are using iron cannonballs," said Alamo's Senior Researcher and Historian Kolby Lanham. "Doesn’t mean they didn’t capture each other’s stuff and use it, but I would say with a fair amount of certainty that this is a Mexican Army cannonball and it was likely fired at the Battle of the Alamo — or it could have been during the 12-day siege.”

The cannonball isn’t the only Alamo artifact that was recently discovered. In January, the trust celebrated the return of one of the 1836 cannons. The weapon was found by a descendant of Samuel Maverick’s family, who said it was used as the base of a birdbath.

history artifacts archeaology texas history alamo