Posted July 20, 2026
Among the many reasons people love far West Texas is the dark skies over the Big Bend region. It’s a wide-open pool of stars, complete with the Milky Way.
The skies there are some of the darkest in the continental U.S.
The McDonald Observatory, situated in the region, relies on those dark skies to study deep space astronomy — including dark energy, distant galaxies and exoplanets.
Now, many in the region fear President Trump’s plan to build a new border wall in the region will flood the area with light pollution. Dark sky defenders are sounding the alarm.
Read the full story at the Texas Standard.
Photo credit Gabriel C. Pérez / KUT News
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