Milky Way Over Maryhill Stonehenge

Built as the nation’s first World War I memorial and located near the eastern gateway of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Maryhill Stonehenge is a full-scale replica of England's prehistoric megalithic Stonehenge. It was dedicated on July 4, 1918, as a tribute to the servicemen of Klickitat County, Washington, who died in the Great War.

A total solar eclipse was to be visible in the Maryhill area on June 8, 1918, and the event drew some of the best astronomers of the day. Professor William W. Campbell of the the University of California’s Lick Observatory was there and he agreed to fix the position of the altar memorial’s stone. Unlike the ancient Stonehenge, the Maryhill altar stone is aligned to the astronomical horizon rather than the actual midsummer sunrise, which results in a three degree difference from the original structure. Combined with a five degree difference in latitude and the manner in which the surrounding hills obscure the actual horizon, Maryhill Stonehenge is difficult to use as an astronomical calendar. [Extracted and modified slightly from https://www.maryhillmuseum.org/outside/stonehenge-memorial.]

Nonetheless, iconic Maryhill Stonehenge provides striking views of the Columbia River Gorge, plus reasonably dark skies for astrophotography. I spent the evening of August 21, 2025, there with my camera to create a time-lapse video and a nightscape

Time-lapse video of the night sky at Maryhill Stonehenge on August 21, 2025. The galactic center is visible in the lower part of the image, descending to the right. Light streaks in the sky are from aircraft and satellites. Moving stream of lights near the bottom is from traffic on Interstate 84 in Oregon. To shoot the video, I set up a camera near the altar stone with a view to the south. To light the photograph, I used a small, red headlamp placed inside the structure to illuminate the northern walls. On a moonless night I needed a second red light to move around while getting the headlamp positioned correctly. It didn’t occur to me that the second light might be visible in the video. The result was an unforeseen distraction and a positive learning experience.

View to the south of the Milky Way over Maryhill Stonehenge, August 21, 2025. Nikon Z8 camera with 7Artisans 10mm f/2.8 Mark II lens, ISO 1600, 30 second exposure, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i star tracker.