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Compendium of Astronomy, Star Shots from Oregon Coast at Night
Published 02/23/2011
(Oregon Coast) – Not all the weird science of the Oregon coast happens on the ground, or for that matter, in Earth's atmosphere. When conditions are clear along the coast, the beaches and their inherent darkness protect the eye from the light interference of civilization, and allow you to see wild things in the sky with startling regularity (above: the recent winter equinox lunar eclipse as seen on the north Oregon coast).
See more at part one of Stargazing Tips for Oregon Coast
Starting on the south coast/central coast border, Muriel Ponsler Wayside, near Florence is lit up still by the dying last rays of the sun, but its sister moon is pushing hard to dominate the scene, and the stars are beginning to pop out around it.
About 20 miles up the road, Yachats begins to glow in an ethereal manner as stars and city lights wrestle the sun for attention.
At Newport, below, a myriad of interesting things happen at night, with the Yaquina Bay Bridge and Nye Beach.
Above, the Big Dipper hovers over Newport.
Nearby, just a tad north, Otter Rock, at the Devil's Punchbowl, shows remarkable views of moving stars and the lighthouse in the distance, with a horizon stuffed with what looks like stars, but are actually fishing boats.
A summer night yields numerous stars and a moon that looks more like the sun at a spot just north of Otter Rock.
Depoe Bay, under exceptionally calm nocturnal conditions, gets especially otherworldly.
Another few miles north of there, Gleneden Beach at the state park is pitch black, allowing remarkable views of the night sky.
Lincoln City itself has a few too many city lights and oceanfront motel lights that cause interference with really intense stellar viewing, but still some lovely sights are available.
Pacific City and its Cape Kiwanda are a bit stubborn with their skies on this night, but a fishing boat in the distance and some lights of the small town make for interesting colors in the cloudy skies.
At Manzanita, there’s almost too much going on in these skies at night, as the dark beach and even darker Neahkahnie overlooks provide a lot of protection from light sources.
Silver Point, just south of Cannon Beach, is dark enough to provide stunning views of stellar phenomena.
More of Cannon Beach at night.
Seaside is admittedly not the best place to view things like meteor showers or the subtleties of the night skies, because of all the lights from street lamps or motels. But there are plenty of amazing things to be seen periodically, like this fog encroaching on the Necanicum River, or the lights of the city reflected in the clouds above and in the water.
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