Join astronomy experts for a closer look at the night sky.
Doug McCarty, director of the astronomy program and the Planetarium Sky Theater at Mount Hood Community College and astronomer for over 30 years will lead visitors in viewing the mountains and craters on the moon, distant galaxies, a dying star and Jupiter and its moons through telescopes in the Lodge amphitheater.
Enjoy sunset and the alpine glow before joining the program at 9 p.m.
FREE to the public. No reservation required. Family friendly. For more information call Lawson Reif at 503-622-3191 ext 610.
See the press release below:
Media Contact: Grace Saad
Phone: 503-929-6244
Email: grace.saad@hotmail.com
For immediate release: TIMBERLINE LODGE, Ore.—The fourth of July lit up the sky with fireworks, but visitors to Mount Hood National Forest’s Timberline Lodge can enjoy a free natural sky show at the first ever “Star Party” event at the end of July. Pack up the car and head to the national historic landmark Lodge, located at 6,000 feet on the majestic Mount Hood, and meet with astronomy experts from Mount Hood Community College(MHCC) for a closer look at our night sky.
The program will be held at 9 p.m. on Saturday July 25 in the Lodge amphitheater, where astronomy guru Doug McCarty and university student Alex Cason will guide visitors in star gazing through several telescopes, pointing out planets, stars and other planetary bodies.
“We are going to be looking at craters and mountains on the moon with one of the best telescopes in the world,”said McCarty, who has led astronomy tours in Turkey, Africa and South America. “This year is the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s discovery of the moon’s of Jupiter, and we’ll be viewing the planet and its moons through a telescope that is over 10 times more powerful than the one he used.”
The program will also give visitors a glimpse of a dying star and a galaxy over 2 million light years away.
“It’s like looking into the past,” McCarty said. “If a star is one light year away, that means that the light that we see from it takes one year to reach the Earth. We see the star as it appeared one year ago. We’ll be looking over 2 million years into the past when we view the most distant object that can be seen in the night sky.”
McCarty has been working in astronomy for over 30 years and is also the director of the Planetarium Sky Theater at MHCC, which offers a different presentation of galactic, stellar and planetary images monthly.
Visitors can also enjoy a day at the Lodge complete with a tour at 11 a.m., 1, 2 or 3 p.m., an alpine talk in the amphitheater at 12:30 p.m., a hike on one of the many trails leaving from the Lodge or a sunset picnic right before the program.
What: Star Party at Timberline Lodge. Join astronomy expert Doug McCarty for a closer look at our night sky.
Where: Timberline Lodge Amphitheater; (503) 272-3311. From Portland, take Highway 26 east toward Mount Hood. Turn left on Timberline Road, ¼ mile east of the village of Government Camp. From Hood River, take Highway 35 south to Mount Hood and turn right on Timberline Road, 2 miles past the turn off for Trillium Lake
When: Saturday, July 25; 9 p.m. until
