Haggart Observatory.

University observatory · Oregon City, Oregon

Haggart Observatory

Haggart Observatory is an university observatory in Oregon City, Oregon. It is open to the public.

Haggart Observatory in brief

Open to the public
Yes
Bortle class
Not yet rated

Official site

Can you visit Haggart Observatory? Yes

Free public viewings several times a year hosted by Rose City Astronomers, first-come first-served.

A public night at an observatory usually starts at dusk with a short talk, then a line at the eyepiece of the main telescope for the Moon, a planet or a bright cluster, with volunteers' smaller telescopes set up outside. Dress for the night air even in summer: domes are not heated, so the telescope stays at outside temperature. Many nights sell out or cancel for clouds, so check the observatory's site on the day.

Haggart Observatory
Haggart Observatory

Telescopes at Haggart Observatory

24-inch reflector.

How dark the sky is at Haggart Observatory

Haggart Observatory has no Bortle rating in the list yet. The scale below shows what each class looks like.

1 mag 8.0 21.99+ 2 mag 7.5 21.89+ 3 mag 7.0 21.69+ 4 mag 6.5 20.49+ 5 mag 6.0 19.50+ 6 mag 5.5 18.94+ 7 mag 5.0 18.38+ 8 mag 4.5 18.00+ 9 mag 4.0
The Bortle scale. Each panel shows the class number, the faintest star the naked eye reaches at the zenith, and the darkest-edge sky brightness reading of that class in mag/arcsec².

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, at the coordinates below. Research telescopes are often sited on mountains above the haze, so the real sky can be darker than the map suggests.

Haggart Observatory among the observatories of Oregon

Alvord Desert Arizona Beach State Recreation Site Bates State Park Cape Blanco State Park Cape Lookout State Park Cape Sebastian State Scenic Corridor Carl G. Washburne State Park Cascadia County Park Catherine Creek State Park Chandler State Wayside Collier Memorial State Park Cottonwood Canyon State Park Crater Lake National Park Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area Fort Rock State Natural Area Golden & Silver Falls State Natural Area Goose Lake State Recreation Area Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge Hug Point State Recreation Site Humbug Mountain State Park Jackson F. Kimball State Recreation Site John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Joseph H. Stewart State Recreation Area Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Minam State Recreation Area Ochoco National Forest Prineville Reservoir State Park Saddle Mountain State Natural Area Sitka Sedge State Natural Area Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area Stonefield Beach State Recreation Site Tokatee Klootchman State Natural Site Umpqua National Forest Unity Lake State Recreation Site Wallowa Lake State Park Wallowa-Whitman National Forest White River Falls State Park Willamette National Forest Deschutes National Forest Fremont-Winema National Forest Malheur National Forest Mt. Hood National Forest Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Siuslaw National Forest Umatilla National Forest Tillamook State Forest Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve Dark Sky Park Sisters, Oregon Dark Sky Community Antelope, Oregon Dark Sky Community Pine Mountain Observatory Vernonia Peak Observatory (VPO) Oregon Observatory at Sunriver Oregon Star Party (star party) Haggart Observatory Oregon City, Oregon Haggart Observatory Oregon City, Oregon
Dark sky place Research or private observatory Observatory open to the public Star party

Green dots are observatories open to the public, blue dots research or private sites, squares dark sky places; select one for its page. See Oregon observatories for the full list.

The coordinates on this page point to zip 97045 (approximate): 45.338°N, 122.570°W.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open the larger map · Directions. Mountain observatory roads are often gated after dark; go only on a scheduled public night.

Dark sky places, observatories and clubs near Haggart Observatory

Nearest dark sky places

PlaceWhereBortleDistance
Mt. Hood National ForestOregon365 km (41 mi)
Tillamook State ForestOregon382 km (51 mi)
Cascadia County ParkOregon2105 km (65 mi)
Gifford Pinchot National ForestWashington2107 km (66 mi)
Sitka Sedge State Natural AreaOregon2109 km (67 mi)
Cape Lookout State ParkOregon2110 km (68 mi)

Other observatories open to the public within 150 km

  • Herold ObservatoryOnalaska, Washington, 138 km (86 mi). School district observatory with 24-inch Turner Telescope; open public nights announced locally

Astronomy clubs within 150 km

Star parties near Haggart Observatory

Star partyNearDistanceUsual timing
Oregon Star PartyPrineville, Oregon226 km (140 mi)August new moon
Island Star PartyDuncan, British Columbia392 km (244 mi)August
Table Mountain Star PartyOroville, Washington462 km (287 mi)Summer new moon
Mount Kobau Star PartyOsoyoos, British Columbia473 km (294 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.

Haggart Observatory record

Every value in the observatories dataset for Haggart Observatory
ID82
NameHaggart Observatory
AddressEnvironmental Learning Center, Clackamas Community College, 19600 Molalla Ave
CityOregon City
StateOR
Zip97045
CountryUSA
Webhttps://www.clackamas.edu/campus-life/campuses-buildings-hours/haggart-observatory
Publicy
Telescope24-inch reflector
Lat45.33770
Lon-122.57000
LatLonSpotzip 97045 (approximate)
StatusActive
PublicNoteFree public viewings several times a year hosted by Rose City Astronomers, first-come first-served
Sourceshttps://www.clackamas.edu/campus-life/campuses-buildings-hours/haggart-observatory; https://www.clackamas.edu/about-us/news/2025/06/06/come-stargaze-at-the-environmental-learning-center

From the site's observatories dataset (observatories_q426). Distances are computed from the coordinates.