May 20, 1997 Contact Ross West (541) 346-2060 Source Rick Kang, Friends of Pine Mountain, (541) 683-1381; e-mail, rkang@efn.org BEND--Pine Mountain Observatory--weather permitting--will open its 1997 program offering adventures in space to the public at 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 23 and 24. The University of Oregon research site will present public programs at 9 p.m. on subsequent Friday and Saturday evenings through September. Following an introductory lecture, visitors may view a variety of celestial objects such as the moon, planets, nebulas and galaxies through 15-inch and 24-inch telescopes and giant, high-powered binoculars. Experienced amateur astronomers from the Friends of Pine Mountain Observatory group will be on hand to answer questions and operate the telescopes. Observatory staff also will demonstrate one of the latest techniques available to astronomers: images gathered with a supersensitive electronic camera and then enhanced with the aid of computers. Visitors can take home images from the electronic camera on a computer floppy disk. Observatory staff request a donation of $2 per adult for the program, which is suitable for children age 10 years and up. Pine Mountain Observatory, operated by the University of Oregon, is Oregon's only professional astronomical observatory. Its three large telescopes are used for research and educational purposes. Pine Mountain is one of the few professional observatories open to the public at night. Warm clothes are strongly recommended due to the observatory's high altitude. Rugged footwear is also advised. Bring a small flashlight equipped with red cellophane over its lens or some other means of light attenuation. Plan to arrive just before dusk, usually around 8 p.m. in the summer, so that you can get familiarized with the terrain before dark. To reach Pine Mountain Observatory from Bend, take Highway 20 east (toward Burns) 26 miles to Millican. Just beyond Millican, turn south on the dirt road and drive eight miles to the top of Pine Mountain. To check on mountain-top weather and crowd conditions or to make reservations for group tours for eight or more persons, phone Mark Dunaway at the observatory, (541) 382-8331. -30- #P-7250/Local,PDX,OrDailies,OrSci