How dark the sky is at Malheur: Bortle Class 1, excellent dark-sky site
The zenith sky here reads 21.99 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is as dark as a natural sky gets: almost all the glow comes from airglow and starlight, not lamps.
Milky Way
The Milky Way casts faint shadows; the Scorpius and Sagittarius star clouds show structure to the naked eye
Zodiacal light
Zodiacal light, the gegenschein and the zodiacal band are all visible
Faintest naked-eye stars
Magnitude 7.6 to 8.0 overhead
Naked eye
M33 is a direct-vision naked-eye object; airglow makes the sky faintly green near the horizon
At the eyepiece
Galaxies to magnitude 14 and fainter show in a 200 mm telescope; the limit is your eye, not the sky
Sky brightness and class come from the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness (Falchi et al. 2016, CC BY-NC 4.0), with natural skyglow added. On the night, haze, smoke, humidity and the Moon set the real limit; see every Bortle Class 1 place.
What's up from Malheur by season
At latitude 44.3°N, the north celestial pole stands 44° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -46° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 17° above the southern horizon. These are the constellations well placed, 35° or more above the horizon, at about 10 pm in the middle of each season, brightest first.
January evenings (winter): Auriga, Orion, and Canis Minor
- AurigaOverhead, brightest star Capella
- OrionIn the south, brightest star Rigel
- Canis MinorIn the southeast, brightest star Procyon
- TaurusHigh in the southwest, brightest star Aldebaran
- GeminiHigh in the southeast, brightest star Pollux
- Ursa MajorIn the northeast, brightest star Alioth
- PerseusHigh in the west, brightest star Mirfak
- AriesIn the west, brightest star Hamal
Also well placed: Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Triangulum, Lynx, Cancer, Monoceros, Leo Minor, Camelopardalis.
April evenings (spring): Bootes, Virgo, and Leo
- BootesHigh in the east, brightest star Arcturus
- VirgoIn the southeast, brightest star Spica
- LeoHigh in the southwest, brightest star Regulus
- Ursa MajorOverhead, brightest star Alioth
- Ursa MinorHigh in the north, brightest star Polaris
- Corona BorealisIn the east, brightest star Alphecca
- DracoIn the northeast, brightest star Eltanin
- Canes VenaticiOverhead, brightest star Cor Caroli
Also well placed: Lynx, Cancer, Leo Minor, Camelopardalis, Coma Berenices, Sextans.
July evenings (summer): Bootes, Lyra, and Aquila
- BootesHigh in the west, brightest star Arcturus
- LyraOverhead, brightest star Vega
- AquilaIn the southeast, brightest star Altair
- CygnusHigh in the east, brightest star Deneb
- Ursa MinorHigh in the north, brightest star Polaris
- OphiuchusIn the south, brightest star Rasalhague
- Corona BorealisHigh in the southwest, brightest star Alphecca
- DracoOverhead, brightest star Eltanin
Also well placed: Cepheus, Hercules, Canes Venatici, Sagitta, Delphinus, Lacerta, Vulpecula.
October evenings (fall): Lyra, Cygnus, and Perseus
- LyraIn the west, brightest star Vega
- CygnusHigh in the west, brightest star Deneb
- PerseusIn the east, brightest star Mirfak
- Ursa MinorIn the north, brightest star Polaris
- AriesIn the east, brightest star Hamal
- AndromedaOverhead, brightest star Alpheratz
- DracoIn the northwest, brightest star Eltanin
- CassiopeiaHigh in the northeast, brightest star Schedar
Also well placed: Pegasus, Cepheus, Triangulum, Pisces, Delphinus, Lacerta, Equuleus, Camelopardalis, Vulpecula.
Showpieces from Malheur through the year
| Sight | Constellation | January | April | July | October |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Andromeda | In the northwest | - | - | Overhead |
| Orion Nebula (M42) | Orion | In the south | - | - | - |
| Pleiades (M45) | Taurus | High in the southwest | - | - | In the east |
| Double Cluster | Perseus | High in the northwest | - | - | High in the northeast |
| Hercules Cluster (M13) | Hercules | - | In the east | Overhead | - |
| Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) | Canes Venatici | - | High in the east | In the northwest | - |
| Ring Nebula (M57) | Lyra | - | - | Overhead | In the west |
At about 10 pm on the 15th of each month; a dash means the sight is below 25° then.
Never set from Malheur
Only skim the southern horizon from Malheur
Never rise from Malheur
Where to set up at Malheur
The coordinates on this page point to Strawberry campground, at 1,786 m (5,860 ft): 44.320°N, 118.675°W.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open the larger map · Directions. Arrive before dark, park facing away from other observers, and use red light only.
Malheur among the dark sky places of Oregon
Each dot is a dark sky place, colored by Bortle class; select one for its page. Diamonds are star parties. See Oregon dark sky places for the full list, darkest first.
Camping and lodging at Malheur
The nearest town with motels or inns is Prairie City, OR. Check the official site for campgrounds and overnight rules; many parks close their gates at night, so ask about after-dark access.
Dark sky places nearest Malheur
| Place | Where | Bortle | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bates State Park | Oregon | 1 | 33 km (21 mi) |
| Unity Lake State Recreation Site | Oregon | 2 | 44 km (27 mi) |
| Wallowa-Whitman National Forest | Oregon | 2 | 79 km (49 mi) |
| Ochoco National Forest | Oregon | 1 | 114 km (71 mi) |
| Malheur National Wildlife Refuge | Oregon | 1 | 118 km (73 mi) |
| Catherine Creek State Park | Oregon | 2 | 119 km (74 mi) |
| John Day Fossil Beds National Monument | Oregon | 1 | 131 km (82 mi) |
| Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area | Oregon | 2 | 137 km (85 mi) |
Star parties near Malheur
| Star party | Near | Distance | Usual timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon Star Party | Prineville, Oregon | 115 km (71 mi) | August new moon |
| Idaho Star Party | Mountain Home, Idaho | 287 km (178 mi) | September new moon |
| Golden State Star Party | Adin, California | 395 km (246 mi) | Summer new moon |
| Table Mountain Star Party | Oroville, Washington | 510 km (317 mi) | Summer new moon |
Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Oregon puts the dark sky places, observatories, clubs, star parties, planetariums and science centers of the state on one map, with the best night out worked out.
Observatories and astronomy clubs near Malheur
No observatory or astronomy club on the list is near Malheur.
See observatories and astronomy clubs in Oregon. Local clubs often hold their star parties at dark sky places like this one.
Malheur record
Every value in the dark sky places dataset for Malheur
| Park | 790 |
|---|---|
| Name | Malheur |
| TypeLong | National Forest |
| Type1 | NF |
| Bortle | 1 |
| Statelong | Oregon |
| State | OR |
| Web | https://www.fs.usda.gov/malheur |
| Lat | 44.31994 |
| Lon | -118.67530 |
| LatLonSpot | Strawberry campground |
| Elevation_m | 1786 |
| LandManager | USDA Forest Service |
| Status | Open |
| Lodging | Prairie City, OR |
| Sources | https://outdoorithm.com/campgrounds/USFS:40164:unknown |
| SQM | 21.99 |
From the site's dark sky places dataset (parks_q426). The sky by season is computed from the coordinates.