St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Prineville OR

07/18/2026

Saturday Evening Prayer and Astronomy Cancelled

As you can probably guess from looking outside, we're going to call tonight's Evening Prayer and Astronomy a no-go. Now averaging 125, with peaks in some areas above 160, the smoke is simply worse than yesterday.

Stay tuned for August dates or potential rescheduling for July.

As always, we thank all those who make these events possible, and ask for your continued prayers for all who fight these fires, all who support the firefighters, and for all those displaced and impacted by the fires.

07/17/2026

Public Astronomy Cancelled for Friday

Well shoot. I hate it when we cancel viewing. But with the flare up of several new fires, it seems we're back in smoke season. I've been monitoring Watch Duty and the EPA AirNow. It doesn't take much to ruin sky transparency, and we've been running between 75 and 106 on the EPA app.

Stay tuned and we'll see about tomorrow. All it takes is a shift in wind etc to clear out an area (and make it someone else's headache).

Prayers and good thoughts for all involved in battling wildfires and supporting those on the front lines.

07/16/2026

Wildfires and Astronomy Don't Mix

Public astronomy at Barnes Butte is scheduled for this Friday and Saturday evening, beginning at sunset.

Currently tracking several fires, including the Reservoir Fire NW of town and the new Pilot Fire just off the 380 SE of town. Depending on wind direction, there is also possible smoke drifting into the area from the Crosswhite-Redrock fire (1,700 acres) near Twickenham, and the Salmon-Olive Butte fire (4,100 acres) near Sumpter. I will be at the Trailhead both evenings, and will likely make a last minute go / no-go call based on the sky visibility at that time. The setting crescent Moon will serve as a good object for judging sky transparency.

I will continue to monitor and update through tomorrow.

As always, very grateful for the positive response from the community and for the support we get from our local officials. Please hold all those fighting fires on the front lines, all those who support their efforts, and all those displaced or impacted by wildfires in your thoughts and prayers.

07/16/2026

07/15/2026

A reminder that our own Rev. Willa Goodfellow will be at Oliver Books this coming Saturday from 3-4:30 to read from her most recent publication - a collection of stories from the small town in Costa Rica that Willa and Helen frequent. Stop on by to say hello and show your support!

07/13/2026

It's Prineville Public Astronomy Week

Friday, July 17
8:45 pm - Open public viewing

Saturday, July 18
8:30 pm - Sunset Vespers service
9:00 pm - Open public viewing

Weather forecast so far looks GREAT. Clear skies and mid 50s.

Barnes Butte Trailhead Parking Lot. All Are Welcome.

We are in the midst of the summer sky, with the Milky Way running directly overhead. We believe our galaxy us shaped like a frisbee with spiral arms, roughly 100,000 light years in diameter, and about 10,000 light years thick. We are located about 1/3 of the way from the end on one of the spiral arms. When you look at the band of the Milky Way, you are looking out along the plane of the galaxy.

Early in the evening there will be a chance to view the slim 16% illuminated crescent Moon before it sets, and to view the planet Venus low in the west.

As the sky darkens, we'll look at various stars and their colors, learning what the colors tell us. We'll move on to double star systems, gas cloud remnants of dying stars, clusters of stars, and even distant galaxies 12 million light years distant.

Hope to see you there! As always, we thank the City of Prineville, Crook County Parks and Rec, Crook County Rotary, the Sunriver Nature Center Observatory, and Central Oregon Rocketry and Astronomy for their support of public access astronomy education.

06/14/2026

Thank you to all who came out for Saturday night's Evening Prayer and Astronomy. I counted about 26 folks, with a good number of wonderfully curious youth. The seeing was excellent, and we hit every target on our list and then some:

* Sunspots on the surface of the Sun.
* Venus.
* Jupiter with the moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto visible.
* Mercury.
* Vega, Arcturus, and Antares as examples of stellar color and temperature.
* Albireo and Alcor-Mizar as examples of double star systems.
* Dense star fields toward the center of the galaxy in Sagittarius.
* M57 Ring Nebula - remnant of a dying star 1500 light years distant (picture).
* M13 Globular Cluster - a tightly compacted sphere of about 500,000 stars located just outside our galaxy at 25,000 light years distant (picture).
* M81 and M82 - a pair of galaxies 12 million light years distant (picture).
* M51 Whirlpool galaxy - face on spiral galaxy 31 million light years distant (picture).

Our next scheduled viewings are Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19, weather permitting. Gathering again between 8:30 and 8:45p and viewing until the last person gets tired.

If you would like to receive e-mail notifications for future free Prineville Public Astronomy events, you can scan the QR code in the pictures, or go directly to the link below. No spam, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

[email protected]" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://gaggle.email/join/[email protected]

THANK YOU, once again, to the City of Prineville, Crook County Parks and Recreation, Rotary Club of Crook County, Sunriver Nature Center Observatory, and Cascade Astronomy and Rocketry Academy for making this free public education opportunity possible.

06/13/2026

Evening Prayer and Astronomy tonight
All Are Welcome
Gather 8:30 at Barnes Butte Trailhead parking area.

We had a fun turnout last night. A smaller group, but that meant that everyone got as much eyepiece time as they wanted on several telescopes. We caught sunspots on the setting Sun, and after sunset viewed Venus, Jupiter (with the four Galilean moons visible) and Mercury as an unexpected bonus (good eyes, Katelyn!). As the evening progressed we worked our way through stars (various colors, temperatures), double stars, remnants of dying stars, globular clusters, and even a pair of galaxies 12 million light years distant.

Tonight's gathering begins with a short ecumenical prayer service right before sunset, followed by viewing into the evening. Come for either or both parts. Everyone is welcome.

06/12/2026

Free Public Astronomy Friday and Saturday Night!

Gathering this evening and tomorrow evening between 8:30 and 8:45pm, Barnes Butte Trailhead parking lot. You may wish to bring a light jacket / hoodie and a folding camp chair. Saturday's session will include an optional ecumenical evening prayer service at sunset before viewing starts. All are welcome.

Solar viewing and sunspots right before sunset. (Yes, you can view the Sun safely with the right equipment). Venus and Jupiter right after sunset. Stars, double stars, nebulae formed from dying stars, globular clusters, and galaxies 12 million light years distant as the evening progresses.

Astronomy is one of those things that puts everything else into perspective. When you come to grips with the vast time and distance scales of the universe in which we live, everything falls into place. You can't help but start to ponder questions about our existence. You can't help but appreciate this tiny and precious little planet that supports such an incredible diversity of life, all under an atmosphere that is only about as thick as the distance from Sunriver to Madras. All of the petty political and social squabbles that divide humanity suddenly seem insignificant in comparison.

Come spend some quiet moments under the splendor of the night sky, face to face with the universe, the infinite, and the ultimate mystery. Clear skies and no moon. It should be spectacular. Hope to see you there!