MICHAEL ENDL: The goal is that, inside the dome, the temperature is at the same level as the expected nighttime temperature — that’s why it’s already cooled down a little bit. But, of course, when we open up everything will take some time to settle down. Michael Endl is getting ready to hunt for planets. The McDonald Observatory astronomer is standing below the Harlan J. Smith Telescope. Air conditioners whirr around him, keeping the telescope and its 107-inch primary mirror cool, which keeps its view of the night sky sharp and clear. Over the next few hours, Endl will use the telescope to examine 30 or 40 stars — targets that he and colleagues have been watching for years. They’re looking for giant planets in distant orbits around the stars — planets similar to Jupiter in our own solar system. But getting ready to look at those stars takes some time. The instrument that Endl is using — a spectrograph, which breaks starlight into its individual wavelengths or colors — has to be properl
