OREGON OBSERVATORY

Stardate: 202604.12

Location: Sunriver, Oregon

Purpose: Stargazing

In Oregon. it's hard to predict the weather. We went over to the Oregon Observatory located in Sunriver. It was a beautiful drive, where sun protection was needed. (For me at least. I will get a sunburn in a car.) The night of our appointment was very overcast. We were a little disappointed to see that the observation area had the roof closed. That's never a good sign. We walked in and chatted with the knowledgeable volunteers for a bit.

They had a plan B, which was a talk about meteorites. The presenter was very funny and we enjoyed his talk a great deal. After looking at a bunch of samples, we ventured back to the observation area, just in case. They roof was open, but there was too much cloud cover. They closed it again as soon as it started to sprinkle because telescopes and water do not mix.

We hung around for a long time, learning everything we could about the telescopes and their history. Once again, the roof was opened and the volunteers started maneuvering one of the telescopes into position. The clouds were moving and opening up pockets of clear sky.

We were finally able to see some celestial bodies! I saw Saturn for the first time, and four of the moons. It was hard to wrap my brain around the idea that I was actually looking at a planet. I also got to see a galaxy! It was a little blurry, but I have never been so excited. I can't wait to go back in the summer when the weather will be a little less temperamental.

If you have never been to an observatory, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Maybe you'll even catch a glimpse of the Enterprise.