News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 69
With the arrival of autumn, climate experts are weighing in on what kind of a winter we might expect here in the Pacific Northwest. After serving as a caldron where one of the strongest El Niños in 65 years was brewed last season, conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean have returned to more normal levels. What atmospheric scientists need to figure out now is where to go from here. Several climatic entities are currently under scrutiny. The Madden-Julian Oscillation is... Full story
Two Sisters High School students have been selected to attend an astronomy-related conference in Carson City, Nevada this summer. Alex Burroughs and Rylee Funk are president and vice president of the student division of the Sisters Astronomy Club, who have recently been active in the citizen science RECON program. Citizen science is scientific research conducted by amateur or nonprofessional scientists. RECON, an acronym for Research and Education Collaborative Occultation... Full story
Old Man Winter officially departed the scene at 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 19. The weather he dished out this season, taken as a whole, turned out to be about normal with regard to temperature and precipitation. But, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Last fall climate scientists were watching a large mass of very warm water that was advancing eastward across the tropical Pacific Ocean. They warned that when this slug of unusually warm water reached... Full story
There was once a giant constellation that dominated the southern celestial sphere by area. It was known as Argo Navis and represented the ship used by "Jason and the Argonauts" of Greek mythology to search for the highly prized Golden Fleece, a symbol of authority and kingship. In 1752 French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille sub-divided Argo Navis into three adjacent constellations now known as Carina, Puppis and Vela. Though these new star groupings are now separate... Full story
This winter's much-anticipated El Niño phenomenon has not been behaving exactly as anticipated. As fall approached, atmospheric scientists were watching developments in the tropical Pacific Ocean. A large batch of unusually warm water had materialized that stretched from the International Date Line eastward to Peru. It was a signal that the first El Niño in six years was on its way. And if it merged with the warm blobs of water already in place in the eastern... Full story
For many years Central Oregon has been the destination of many Oregonians who live on the west side of the Cascade mountains (and from elsewhere, too) seeking to recreate in an area with clear skies, less rain, and abundant natural beauty. And it's cleaner today than it used to be. Before the Oregon bottle bill, passed in 1971 that required cans, bottles, and other containers of soft drinks, beer and water sold in Oregon to be returnable with a minimum refund value, roadside... Full story
After two winters in a row of warm and extremely dry weather here in the Pacific Northwest, many residents have more than a passing interest in the forecast for the upcoming 2015-16 season. They want to know if a more normal winter is in the offing that might alleviate worsening drought conditions and put some snow in the mountains. According to a growing number of meteorologists and climatologists the answer is probably no. There is mounting evidence that a strong El... Full story
The arrival of late summer and early fall brings with it the opportunity to view with the unaided eye a galaxy that lies beyond our own Milky Way. The great Andromeda Galaxy, so named because it resides in the constellation of Andromeda, is a large spiral galaxy situated only 2.5 million light-years away. It is also referred to as M31, the 31st entry in Charles Messier's catalog of non-stellar objects. Under extremely dark skies, some sharp-eyed observers have reported seeing... Full story
Despite the increasing number of people who choose to make Central Oregon their home, the night skies here, at least for now, remain relatively dark. This is good news for those seeking the awe-inspiring sights of celestial objects that can only be witnessed from truly dark skies. And one of the best facilities for viewing the grandeur of our universe is the Oregon Observatory located at Sunriver Resort south of Bend. Operating in conjunction with the Sunriver Nature Center,... Full story
On the evening of June 10 a small group of educators, students and amateur astronomers gathered at Sisters High School in an attempt to detect the presence of a small, icy body located at the outer reaches of the solar system. It was RECON's (Research and Education Collaborative Occultation Network) inaugural campaign to measure the size of objects orbiting the sun beyond Neptune, called Trans-Neptunian Objects, or TNOs. Telescopes and cameras at 60 communities stretching... Full story
No unicorns inhabit the earth. But according to sky lore, there is one in the starry realm. Monoceros the Unicorn is a faint wintertime constellation that lies due east of Orion. One would need a dark, clear night just to have a shot at finding it. It extends about 10 degrees north and south of the celestial equator. While none of the stars in this constellation are bright, a few of them are of special interest. Beta Monocerotis is an impressive triple star system. When... Full story
To ever-increasing numbers of people, losing the darkness of night to light pollution is a growing concern. And, while the cause of the problem has been clearly identified, the reason for their worry is multifaceted. Our ancient ancestors must have had an incredibly transparent view of the night sky. The stars probably shined so brightly that it may have seemed that they could reach out and touch them. And the wealth of information they gleaned from their observations helped... Full story
Not since 2009 has El Niño held sway over our weather. Three meteorologists from Oregon foresee its return this coming winter. How its arrival might influence our weather over the next few months was the subject of the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society's 22nd annual winter weather forecast conference held Saturday, October 25, at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. Liana Ramirez of the National Weather Service in Portland; Rod Hill meteorologist for KGW-TV; and Kyle Dittmer,... Full story
On the afternoon of September 27, Sisters High School freshman Evan Kolar and his neighbor Bill Hull had a close encounter with a U(F)FO (an Unidentified Formerly Flying Object). The two were in the forest near Pole Creek southwest of Sisters gathering spruce trees for replanting (carrying the required permit) when they came upon the crash site. Before them was an odd entanglement of latex rubber, a piece of orange cloth and several lengths of cord attached to a white... Full story
Nearly overhead by nightfall in September, Vulpecula, the celestial fox, can be found directly south of Cygnus the swan. But because there are no bright stars in this constellation, locating it will be no easy feat. The arrangement of dim stars that give Vulpecula its shape have an east-west orientation and, perhaps not surprisingly, bears absolutely no resemblance to the animal it's supposed to represent. The constellation's brightest star, Alpha Vulpeculae, is located about... Full story
Last fall three meteorologists from Oregon offered their opinions about what the upcoming 2013-14 winter had in store. The event was the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society's winter weather forecast conference held at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. The most reliable tool the forecasters employed to arrive at their prognostications was the El Niño/La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index that is determined by atmospheric and oceanic conditions in the central tropical... Full story
In past articles the authors of this column have guided watchers of the night sky to various constellations that populate the celestial sphere. By simply following the directions, readers were led to a collection of stars that comprised a particular constellation. This exercise was made easier when the targeted stars are bright. Identifying this month's featured constellation, however, may be a bit more difficult. Canes Venatici represents the two hunting dogs of Bootes the... Full story
If you've ever had an occasion to visit the Sisters Ranger District office on the corner of Cascade Avenue and Pine Street in search of a permit to cut firewood, to obtain a pass to recreate in protected national forests, or just to ask directions, you probably had the pleasure of speaking with Sandy Sharp. But if the total sum of your life's experiences to date does not include such an encounter, then you'll have to chalk it up to a missed opportunity, because January 10 was... Full story
Is Old Man Winter getting senile? After an uneventful and quite dry November, the elderly gentleman responsible for the coldest season of the year began to focus on the task at hand. On December 1, a snappy little storm blew through Central Oregon, toppling trees onto structures, blocking roads and causing scattered power outages. Two days later a 3-to-5-inch snowfall blanketed Sisters Country followed by an intense blast of arctic air from the far north. The 10-day cold... Full story
The fine summer-like weather that Central Oregon residents had been enjoying during much of October came to an abrupt end last week when an upper-level low dropped south from Canada, bringing with it chilly temperatures and some low-elevation snow. The sudden change is a reminder that another winter season has the Pacific Northwest squarely in its sights. But will our region incur the full wrath of Old Man Winter this time around, or will he be gentle? This is precisely the... Full story
I would like to address my comments to the manager of the STA/US Forest Trail Project. I do not know who that manager is, but I'm guessing that it's somewhere between Gary Guttormsen and Kristie Miller. You deserve a grade of D- for your managerial skills. I have heard Kristie Miller apologizing to Crossroads for her error in "forgetting" to let Crossroads know about the trail, or have any voice in the decision. I am rejecting Kristie's apology as a false premise. This was a stealth hit, this was an end run, and this was a... Full story
Against the backdrop of the summer Milky Way lets fly a celestial arrow. This diminutive constellation is known as Sagitta and is surrounded by the little fox Vulpecula, the mythological hero Hercules, the eagle Aquila and the dolphin Delphinus. Sagitta is the third-smallest of all the constellations-only Equuleus and Crux are smaller. In ancient Greek mythology, Sagitta was known as the weapon that Hercules used to kill the eagle (Aquila) that perpetually gnawed Prometheus'... Full story
The winter of 2012-2013 is now history. Weather information from hundreds of stations throughout the Pacific Northwest are being processed and combined with records collected from past years that are used to define our climate. How well did the weather prognosticators do when they issued their forecasts last fall? In November, weather experts speculated about the kind of winter that was in store for residents of the Pacific Northwest. The event was the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society's annual Winter... Full story
We're all affected by the weather. More people watch the weather segment of the television newscast than any other portion to learn about any possible inconvenience that the elements may impose on their planned activities. And for many folks that's where their interest begins and ends. Yet weather seems to hold a fascination for an increasing number of Oregonians. The Oregon chapter of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) is now the largest local chapter in the country,... Full story
A standing-room-only crowd packed into the auditorium at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland on Saturday, November 17, to hear what regional meteorologists and climate experts had to say about the kind of weather we might expect this winter here in the Pacific Northwest. The event was the 20th annual winter weather forecast conference put on by the Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society. Participating speakers were Clinton Rockey, National... Full story
