(The Center Square) – A half-century of stargazing will be celebrated on Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Goldendale Observatory. The public is invited to take a peek.
Washington State Parks will host the free, family-friendly event at 2 p.m. Along with light refreshments, speakers, and educational programming, there will be live views of the sun streamed to big screens from the observatory’s solar telescope and – of particular interest to astronomy buffs – replays of that morning’s annular eclipse.
According to NASA, the annular solar eclipse – which happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth – will be visible in the U.S. beginning in Oregon at 9:13 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time and ending in Texas at 12:03 p.m. Central Daylight Time.
Assuming the weather cooperates, Washingtonians will see about 81.2% of the sun blocked out, with a partial eclipse starting at 8:09 a.m. In the Evergreen State, the annular eclipse will reach its maximum at 9:20 a.m. and last for several minutes before fading into a partial eclipse, lasting until 10:39 a.m.
Perched on the Columbia Plateau near the town of Goldendale in southwest Washington, the observatory itself was acquired by State Parks in 1980 and houses one of the largest publicly accessible telescopes in the nation. Four amateur astronomers associated with Clark College built the facility’s current 24-inch Cassegrain telescope in the 1960s.
In a press release, Park officials said the four builders were returning home on a scouting trip and made a chance stopover in Goldendale where they met the town mayor. The encounter prompted them to select it as their project location. Using bank loans, a federal grant, and donations to fund its construction, the building opened on Oct. 13, 1973. It has since attracted hundreds of thousands of skywatchers over the past five decades.
Regular programming is by appointment, but interspersed with public events to observe eclipses, comets, auroras, and other celestial phenomena.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the park’s longtime interpretive specialist, Troy Carpenter, became an early adopter of virtual programming. That interest enabled the park to live-stream its programs on YouTube and Facebook, using technology adapted for the telescope and expanding the wonders of astronomy to laptops and living rooms around the world, said park officials.
The Goldendale Observatory State Park Heritage Site is located at 1602 Observatory Drive, about two miles north of Goldendale. Visitors driving to the 5-acre site on Saturday will need a Washington Discover Pass for vehicle parking. Shuttle service will also be available from Goldendale High School, 525 E. Simcoe Dr.
Along with online access, information is available by calling State Parks’ East Columbia Gorge area office at (509) 773-3141.
