Aphelion

44.0582° N · 121.3153° W · Elev 1,268 m

The universe, on schedule nightly.

Aphelion is a working planetarium in the Oregon high desert. Five shows a night, four nights a week, one 24-metre dome pointed at everything. The sky keeps its appointments; we publish them.

Tonight’s programme Plan a visit
Local sidereal time--:--:--
Dome shutterOpen
Seeing · Sky class4 / 5 · Bortle 2
Next show19:00 — First Light
06 Jul Earth at aphelion · 152,087,774 km 28 Jul Delta Aquariid maximum · ZHR 25 12 Aug Perseid maximum · ZHR 100 · moonless 21 Sep Saturn at opposition · mag +0.4 08 Oct Draconid shower · after dusk 03 Nov Perigee full moon · 356,980 km 14 Dec Geminid maximum · ZHR 150
01 / The Orrery

A solar system that runs to the second.

The lobby orrery is driven by the same ephemeris that steers our star projector, compressed until one Earth year lasts twenty-six seconds. Mercury laps the sun before you finish reading this paragraph.

Saturn takes twelve minutes and forty-six seconds. Stay for a full show and it still won’t finish a circuit — which is roughly the point.

  • Mercury87.97 d → 6.3 s
  • Venus224.7 d → 16 s
  • Earth365.25 d → 26 s
  • Mars687 d → 49 s
  • Saturn29.4 yr → 12 m 46 s
Hover holds the model still
02 / Tonight — Wed 02 Jul

Five pointings, timed to the minute.

Every show ends with the dome slaved to a real target at its published coordinates. If the sky outside is clear, we open the shutter and prove it.

Tonight’s programme with targets and coordinates
TimeProgrammeTargetRADecSeats
19:00 First LightTonight’s sky, narrated live — Dr. Imogen Reyes M13 · Hercules 16h 41m 41s +36° 27′ 37″ Selling fast
20:15 RingfallSaturn, up close and in a hurry — T. Okonkwo Saturn 23h 12m 08s −06° 48′ 11″ Open
21:30 The LagoonStar birth in Sagittarius — Dr. Saul Weiss M8 · Sagittarius 18h 03m 37s −24° 23′ 12″ 6 left
22:45 Deep FieldThirteen billion years in one frame — M. Anand Hubble UDF · Fornax 03h 32m 39s −27° 47′ 29″ Sold out
00:00 The Late ShiftLights off, eyes up, no narration — night crew M31 · Andromeda 00h 42m 44s +41° 16′ 09″ Open
Coordinates: epoch J2000 · dome pointing verified nightly at 17:40 Doors close at showtime. The sky does not wait, so neither do we.
03 / The Dome

Built in 1974. Rebuilt around the Meridian IX.

In 2021 we gutted the original dome to its concrete ring and rebuilt it around a fibre-optic star projector paired with laser projection across the full hemisphere.

The floor lighting is measured, not guessed: dim enough that your eyes reach full dark adaptation by the second act, bright enough to find your seat.

24MDome diameter

Rolled aluminium, acoustically transparent, zero visible joins.

9,140Projected stars

More than a naked eye can resolve from anywhere on Earth.

212Seats at 28° recline

Every seat faces zenith. There is no bad row.

0.0002LXFloor illumination

Darker than a moonless desert night, by design.

Nothing in the sky is ever late.

Planets keep their appointments to the second, and have for four and a half billion years. We run a building that keeps up.

— House rule № 1, painted over the dome door
04 / Visit

Getting here is half the show.

The last three kilometres of Meridian Rise are unlit on purpose. Your eyes will thank you at the door.

Visitor ephemeris

Address
1 Meridian Rise, Cascade Butte, OR 97701
Open
Wed–Sun · 18:00–01:00
Dark nights
Mon–Tue · instrument maintenance
Transit
Shuttle from Bend Station, 17:30 & 19:45
Parking
Red-light lot, 140 bays, free after 18:00

Dark protocol after 22:00 — red torches only · phone screens stay in the lobby · let the dark do its work

  • Single show
    Any programme, any seat    $22
  • Under-16
    Same sky, smaller ticket    $12
  • The Late Shift
    00:00 · no narration · 18+    $15
  • Full-night dome pass
    All five shows, one evening    $38
  • Ecliptic Society
    Annual · every show free · telescope nights on the butte    $120/yr
Reserve seats See tonight first

Clouded out? Any ticket transfers to the next clear night, no questions, for a full year.