The Harlan J. Smith Telescope is a 2. 7m (107-in. ) telescope located at the McDonald Observatory (). The McDonald Observatory is located near the unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. This telescope is one of several research telescopes that are part of the University of Texas at Austin observatory perched atop Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of west Texas. The telescope was completed in 1968 with substantial NASA assistance, and is named after Harlan James Smith, the first Texas director of McDonald Observatory. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program Harlan James Smith (August 25 1924&ndashOctober 17 1991 was an American Astronomer. Smith was the Observatory Director for 26 years.
Gunshots
In 1970, a disgruntled new worker brought his handgun into the observatory and fired a shot at his Superior and then fired the remaining rounds into the Primary Mirror. The disturbed man was arrested and taken to the Psychiatric Hospital and the bullets were bored out and painted black. The news made the CBS News With Walter Cronkite the next day. The holes effectively reduced the 107 inch telescope the equivalent of a 105 inch telescope. It did not affect the quality of the images it makes, just the amount of light it can collect.
References
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