Pine Mountain Observatory

Pine Mountain Observatory looks out from near the summit of Pine Mountain, about 42 kilometres southeast of Bend, Oregon, under some of the darkest skies in the state.

About Pine Mountain Observatory

Pine Mountain Observatory (PMO) is operated by the University of Oregon's Department of Physics under a special use permit from the Deschutes National Forest. It supports a wide range of programmes with a strong emphasis on giving undergraduate students hands-on experience with facility operations, alongside robust K-12 education and public outreach efforts.

History

Professors Russ Donnelly and E.G. Ebbinghausen discovered and characterised the site in 1965, finding its sky conditions excellent enough to justify building an observatory on Pine Mountain. The first telescope became operational in 1967.

Telescopes & research

Past research projects at PMO have included studies of white dwarf stars and the large-scale structure of galaxies. Earlier education programmes let high-school students observe at the site, analyse their own data and prepare papers for publication, and helped develop software allowing K-12 teachers to run remote observations for classroom use.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits near the summit of Pine Mountain, about 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Bend, Oregon, within the Deschutes National Forest.

Visiting Pine Mountain Observatory

Pine Mountain Observatory runs public outreach programmes; check the official website for current open nights, tours and event schedules before making the trip out from Bend.

See your named star from here

A star named through Star Register comes with precise coordinates you can use with any telescope, including the instruments at Pine Mountain, under some of Oregon's darkest skies. Name a star or browse the star catalogue to find yours.