UO Giving  February 1, 2017

A new grant from The Roundhouse Foundation of Sisters, Oregon, is helping advance plans to outfit the UO’s Pine Mountain Observatory for remote learning. The upgrades will benefit Oregon families during the coronavirus pandemic—and for years to come.

Once renovations are complete, UO students and faculty members in Eugene will be able to make observations from Pine Mountain remotely. That includes viewing with the biggest telescope in the US Pacific Northwest, as well as others at the observatory. Using the internet, staff members will bring lively (and live) astronomy events into Oregon homes and classrooms.

Located 34 miles southeast of Bend at 6,300 feet above sea level—an hour’s drive from the city capped by an eight-mile jaunt along a washboard dirt road—the observatory is far from civilization.

That’s both a blessing and a curse, said director Scott Fisher.

That lonely location represents some of the darkest remaining skies in the contiguous 48 states. So dark that Fisher’s working to get the area designated as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary.

“That’s part of what makes it so special,” Fisher said. “There might be 15, maybe 20, observatories like ours left in the country. And we are one of the best.”

Despite its remote site in the Deschutes National Forest, the facility brings stargazers too close together to practice social distancing. For the first time in decades, the observatory’s annual Memorial Day opening was cancelled this year. Statewide restrictions related to COVID-19 mean the wildly popular Central Oregon destination can’t host visitors yet—at least not in person.

For the time being, the only two people headed to the top of Pine Mountain this summer will be Fisher and Alton Luken, head of observatory operations.

Thanks to The Roundhouse Foundation, the dazzling night skies will be accessible to anyone with a computer and an internet connection. Long-time supporters of the observatory, the foundation contributed $30,000 in May to help implement the final stages of Fisher’s plans for remote control telescopes and observation over the internet.

“Education is a crucial part of the foundation’s mission,” said Kathy Deggendorfer, BS ’73 (English), of Sisters. “Pine Mountain Observatory is a resource for life-long learning and intergenerational education. It’s not just about astronomy. It’s about stimulating thought.

“The observatory is also an important presence for the university in Central Oregon. It is a great way to showcase what the UO has to offer for kids who are thinking about where they want to attend college.”

Deggendorfer started The Roundhouse Foundation in 2002 in collaboration with her mother, the late Gert Boyle, longtime chairman of Columbia Sportswear. Since it began, the foundation has awarded grants to more than 100 different organizations in four major categories: the arts, social services, education, and conservation.

“It’s been exciting to support getting an internet connection up there,” Deggendorfer said. “This project will enhance the observatory as a teaching tool, especially for rural Oregon. We can share the wealth of what is being captured there by linking the observatory to many different schools.”

Those benefits will continue long after the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, she said. And Deggendorfer is excited about the day when families can trek up Pine Mountain again.

“We live in a beautiful place and we have dark, clear skies at night. Once the observatory is open to the public again, please come and visit. You will be amazed.”

The foundation’s recent grant will help the observatory realize the full potential of its newest and most modern telescope—a goal Fisher has been working on for four years. In 2016, he and his team completed the installation of a 14-inch Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope dubbed The Robbins after donor Kenneth C. Robbins.

The Robbins was designed, from the ground up, for remote control. However, the elevation and isolation that make Pine Mountain ideal for astronomy also make it a tough spot to find a strong wi-fi or cell signal.

Over the years, said Fisher, the observatory has often been at the leading edge of remote connectivity. In 1968, an on-site microwave tower provided a basic connection between the observatory and Eugene. In the mid-1990s (during the early days of public internet), the current network connection was installed.

That connection has served the facility well, Fisher said. But it’s not fast enough to support The Robbins and many of the current-generation instruments and cameras. And there have been other obstacles to overcome.

The web of connections that run from the telescope and computers in the Deschutes National Forest to Eugene and back again is complicated and subject to harsh weather conditions. A modern version of this data highway has proven difficult to build, and the technological needs of modern scientific equipment and other obstacles have created unexpected challenges.

“Now (Dare I say it?) the stars have aligned,” Fisher said. “The technology has finally caught up with us, and we have the funding to turn our dream into reality.

“Even a year ago, I would have said we need a full-blown microwave tower and an extraordinarily expensive internet connection to do this. But now we’ve come up with a solution that uses a combination of off-the-shelf computer hardware and software and a dedicated satellite link. The Roundhouse Foundation has provided the resources to fund our sprint through the finish line.”

The global pandemic has made the benefits of a remote-control observatory even more apparent, said Fisher. Students around the world—from kindergarten to graduate school—have quickly adapted to new ways of learning.

Using new technology (and new ways of applying existing technology), teachers have developed innovative approaches to education. Observatory staff members want to help with new ways to teach and learn astronomy over the internet.

“If students can’t get to Pine Mountain, then we will bring the observatory to the students,” said Erin Borla, a trustee with The Roundhouse Foundation.

“If anyone can be successful with remote learning, it’s Scott Fisher. He and Alton Luken are dynamic individuals who are passionate about what they do. They tell a story that makes everyone a physics nerd. Their passion gets you excited.

“The Roundhouse Foundation supports education and creative approaches to learning, because children learn in different ways,” Borla added.

“Pine Mountain Observatory teaches kids about physics and astronomy, but it also connects them to something bigger than themselves. Looking through these telescopes (even if it’s at home, using Zoom) reminds you that you are just a small piece of a very big puzzle. It connects students with something that makes them recognize more beyond what they’re seeing in their neighborhood or community.

“It’s important that other people will be as enthused as we are and come forward to help support Pine Mountain Observatory too. We’re supporting it because we believe in it. We hope others will take opportunities to check out the program.”

Nothing can replace the special experience of summer nights at the observatory. But remote learning will offer some benefits, said Fisher.

Students will have more time to observe (and more opportunities to ask questions) than they would if they were taking turns looking in the telescope viewfinder. Operating telescopes from Eugene and observing the night skies over the internet also means reduced costs and added convenience.

“I picture a full class—or 10 classes—of Oregon students joining a Zoom session to look at live images of the night sky while they measure the sizes of moon craters using astronomy packets from their teachers,” said Fisher.

“They could take their time, really dive in deep, and ask questions. They could even take the wheel and tell us where to point the telescope. The possibilities are endless.”

The way Deggendorfer and Borla see it, the possibilities for Pine Mountain Observatory are also endless.

The foundation is the observatory’s primary supporter, and has committed another $20,000 this year, as well as $50,000 per year for the next two years. They hope to inspire other individuals and organizations to follow suit.

“We love the Pine Mountain Observatory, and everyone should come out and support it,” Deggendorfer said. “With enough funding, we could have the number one such university program in the country.”

Inspired by this recent commitment, another Central Oregon foundation agreed this spring to fund a new telescope for the observatory.

A $50,000 donation from The Robert W. Chandler Advised Fund at the Oregon Community Foundation will enable the observatory to construct and operate a dedicated solar telescope. Starting in late summer or fall, the instrument will transmit a live image of the sun from Pine Mountain, displaying it online, as well as on the Visualization Wall of large screens in the Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library on the UO campus.

—Ed Dorsch, BA ’94, MA ’99