Pine Mountain Observatory
Pine Mountain Observatory (PMO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of Oregon Department of Physics. The facility is located 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Bend, Oregon (USA) in the Deschutes National Forest near the summit of Pine Mountain.
Telescope domes at Pine Mountain | |
| Organization | University of Oregon |
|---|---|
| Location | near Bend, Oregon |
| Coordinates | 43.7915°N 120.9408°W |
| Altitude | 1,920 meters (6,300 ft) |
| Weather | PMO Weather Station |
| Established | 1967 |
| Website | Pine Mountain Observatory |
Location of Pine Mountain Observatory | |
| Related media on Commons | |
PMO supports a wide variety of programs with an emphasis on projects that allow undergraduate students to be involved with many aspects of facility operations. PMO also has robust programs centered on K-12 education and public outreach.
The site was discovered and characterized by professors Russ Donnelly and E.G. Ebbinghausen in 1965 when they determined that the sky conditions were excellent and worthy of an observatory being built on Pine Mountain. The first telescope became operational in 1967.
Former programs gave high-school students the opportunity to not only observe at PMO, but also analyze data and prepare of a paper for publication. Early programs at PMO helped develop older software programs that allowed K-12 teachers to perform observations remotely and process the data for classroom use.
Past research projects included research on white dwarf stars and examining the large-scale structure of galaxies.