Grant Tandy, Worthy Brewing Hopservatory manager and NASA Solar System Ambassador, knows a thing or 5,000 about stargazing. While outdoor, nighttime excursions will not be viable for very much longer (how is it almost September?!), one of the most awe-inspiring staycations has to be finding a dark and peaceful place to take it all in.
"When it comes to stargazing, elevation and light pollution are key," Tandy explained. "I recommend going up towards the Cascades Lakes or out towards Sunriver or Sisters. Sunriver is actually one of 130 internationally recognized Dark Sky Places, the classification was just passed three weeks ago. The largest section of Dark Sky in the entire U.S. is in southeastern Oregon, past the Badlands. There's so much of that to explore."
Tandy also suggested Sparks Lake, Pine Mountain Observatory and the Worthy Hopservatory itself. "Right now we're doing public tours on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays," he said. "We're running two tours a night with five or fewer people. People will have the opportunity to look through a telescope at Saturn, Jupiter, star clusters, the moon... if people go stargazing on their own, I encourage them to bring a pair of binoculars. You really don't need a huge telescope, with binoculars you can see a lot more than you would normally. Try to recognize regions within the milky way, look for star clusters, you'll start noticing a lot of things people wouldn't expect to be visible."
