Stars in Oregon Outback Suggestions?

[Jim Best]

I'm off to my first official Dark Sky experience in mid-June.
So far, it's just me, my 8x40 bins, and my SeeStar s30.

I'm thinking to go to the OSP site on BLM land out of Prineville.
How does that sound? Any other suggestions?

I had so much fun with Richard, Mark, and Joshua at Henry Coe that I'd like to find a crew doing informal gatherings in the Outback. Any suggestions what forums might be equivalent to ours that I might seek out such folx? 

[Akarsh Simha]

I’m starting to put together an interest group that may be interested in an Oregon outback outing in mid-June myself. Of course we’ll be agile and make some last minute decisions based on weather and group interest, but the present plan is Steen’s Mountain. I meant to post an OI on TAC.

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[Joe Lin]

Be sure to check the amount of astronomical darkness mid June in Oregon. I looked up Portland and it’s only fully dark for about 3 hours around the solstice. 

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[Mark Wagner]

Right about astronomical dark.  Here is an astronomical twilight page at USNO that can give at least an idea - its not showing the lesser fully dark hours, but only begin and end of twilights (for Bend OR).

Jim, you might also look at Steens Mountain, where OSP began.

[Howard Banich]

June nights are short up here in Oregon, but that makes it easier to pull an all-nighter! It's an 8-hour drive for me, longer for you Bay Area folks, so it's best to go when you can stay for at least 3 or 4 nights.

Steens Mtn is as beautiful during the day as it can be at night, so if you enjoy hiking and great daytime views it's hard to beat. Beware the altitude, though - the best place to observe from is near Fish Lake at 7400 feet, and it's possible to observe from near the summit at 9700 feet, but you can't leave your scope set up during the day up there. It's cold at night so bring your winter observing clothes.

The paved road ends with an 18 mile drive up the mountain on a gravel road to Fish Lake. Sometimes the road is a washboard mess, and sometimes it's in good shape. The small town of Frenchglen is at the end of the paved road, but there's no gas or food there - that's another hour away in Burns.

I think the best spot to observe from is the "Fish Bowl" area just over a slight rise from the Fish Lake campground (see the attachment). That eliminates the campfires and trailer lights of other campers from intruding, plus other campers are less likely to wander over. And you can set up your camp right next to your scope. The vault toilet is a short walk back in the campground.

The sky can be as dark and transparent as anywhere on the planet when the sky cooperates, so before heading out it's a good idea to make sure the weather will be good and there's no wildfires/smoke.

Howard

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[Paul Alsing]

Jimi & Connie Lowrey, Myself & Debbie, Akarsh and John Hoey spent several nights at "The Fishbowl" on several nights preceding the 2027 total eclipse, and I must say that we could not see our hands in front of our face. D.A.R.K.

The Fishbowl seems to be a seasonal shallow lake, dry in the summer, and it has some low rounded rocks protruding from the surface. We had some glow-in-the-dark 1/4" clothesline with us, and Deb created some little round "halos" to place over the rocks in our observing area so we would not trip over them.

The only problem was some smoke, which was prevalent that year in Oregon, and which invaded us to some extent for a couple of nights, but it was as dark as it gets there... and the cell service is great, since the tower is atop the mountain nearby on the highest road in Oregon! Nevertheless, great times with great folks, always a good combination!

At that time, the road was a mess of a washboard, but it smoothed out a lot if you increased your speed to the "resonance" of the bumps. 😁

\Paul Alsing

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Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2026 12:00 PM
To: sf-ba...@googlegroups.com <sf-ba...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [TAC] Stars in Oregon Outback Suggestions?

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[Richard Navarrete]

Future travelers. I didn’t even realize there was going to be a 2027 eclipse! 😁

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

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[Paul Alsing]

OOPS... 2017, of course.

I'm firing my editor, Post Haste...

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From: 'Richard Navarrete' via The Astronomy Connection (TAC) <sf-ba...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2026 1:06 PM

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[Akarsh Simha]

Hard to believe that was almost 10 years ago now! Unfortunately, that night when I was at the Steens was smoked out and I didn’t get to see the incredible sky, but those present were raving about the previous night. Makes me all the more interested in going back

And yes I plan to bring my work. It’s a lot easier to work during the day if observing is only 3 hours.

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[Rod Brown]

I'm already booked for the June new moon, but I'd be interested in a future Oregon trip.

Rod

[Jim Best]

Thanks for the great detailed info!

It hadn't even occurred to me about the narrowed window of astronomical darkness.

Will keep exploring the options but if other ideas crop up or anyone has a lead for an OR-based star community I'd appreciate it!