Ashton Observatory
The night sky is calling you
Ashton Observatory
The night sky is calling you
Saturday Public Nights - April Through October
Our 2024 season at Ashton Observatory has come to an end. Winter has arrived. Our Saturday Public Nights will resume on the first Saturday of April, 2025.
Saturday Public Nights are free admission, and for all ages. Activities get going by 8:00 p.m. or sunset, whichever comes first. Weather and sky conditions permitting, the members of DMAS are looking forward to showing you what's in the night sky. You could call it a star party!
Exploring the Night Sky over Central Iowa
The Des Moines Astronomical Society is a club of amateur astronomers dedicated to sharing their passion for astronomy with visitors to Ashton Observatory located in dark skies northeast of Des Moines. The Observatory is open to the public each Saturday evening, April through October (starts April 13 this year - 2024). Admission is free, and for all ages. Saturday Public Nights begin at 8:00 p.m. We plan to begin with a classroom program the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month, but check the schedule HERE for details. Stargazing through the large telescopes in our domes at Ashton Observatory follow as sky conditions allow.
Saturday Public Nights
Saturday evenings from April through October offer programs and stargazing for the general public. Free admission. The classroom action begins at 8:00 p.m.
Private Groups
Schedule a private visit for your group, club, students, family, to experience the night sky away from urban light pollution.
Daytime visits are also available.
January "Planet Parade"
Lots of people are asking about the "Planet Parade" in the night sky this month - January, 2025.
(While Ashton Observatory is only open for hosting visitors from April through October each year, here is some information about the "planet parade" happening this January in the night sky. I attach two images to illustrate.)
It is somewhat special that 6 of the planets in our Solar System are all in the night sky at the same time. Four of the planets are bright objects, making them visible naked-eyes objects (Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars). Neptune and Uranus, while being very large planets, are very far away from us, so appear tiny and dim, requiring a telescope to get a meaningful view -- but they they ARE up there in the sky with the rest of the parade. Only Mercury is not visible since it is leading the Sun right now. Earth of course can also be seen if you look down at your feet. :-)
Sometimes planets can appear close to each other, and we call that a "conjunction." That would be true of Venus and Saturn at this time. As you can see on the orbit diagrams, they are not physically near each other at all but they appear from our position on Earth to be in the same direction.
If you are checking from day to day you will notice Saturn will appear to be moving toward Venus each night, and will pass by Venus on the 18th. That's all the result of their individual orbits, but ALSO Earth's movement in its orbit changing where those planets appear to be as viewed from Earth.
The rest of the planets stretch from east to west horizons, so you'll need a fairly open view towards the east and west horizons to see the planets there.
Planets in our solar system are pretty bright, so they can usually be seen even in urban light pollution. Of course dark locations always make it easier to see and more dramatic. The path of the planets arches across the southern part of the sky when you're looking.
And check out the Orion constellation while your looking - below and left of Jupiter. That bright star below and left of Orion is Sirius, the brightest star as seen from Earth. That doesn't mean it's the biggest and brightest star in an absolute sense - it's mostly because it is nearer to us making it appear brightest for Earthlings.
Another satisfying object is the Pleiades star cluster, above and right of Jupiter. The three stars of Orion's belt point in that direction. You can likely see a faint glow of that naked-eye, but it's a fantastic view through binoculars -- you won't be disappointed!
Have fun looking!
By the way, the Ashton Wildwood county park, where Ashton Observatory is located, is open to the public every day of the year, so you are welcome to go there to view things from that dark location if you wish.
Greg Woolever, Ashton Observatory Director
Recent activities
Were you able to see the Aurora Borealis display the night of April 23, 2023 here in Central Iowa? Such events are rare for us this far south, but do sometimes surprise us. Several DMAS members did get some photos as the display got energized around 11:30 p.m. that night. Shown are samples from L. Allen Beers, Brennan Jontz, Greg Woolever, and Norm Van Klompenburg.
NASA provides opportunity to use remote telescope
If you've ever wished you could capture a photo through a remote telescope ... you can! With the help of NASA and Harvard University, you can request whatever target you want - your photo will be emailed to you in a day or so. It all starts at their micro observatory website, and from there you can also learn how to process the photo to reveal the features that are there. Don't know how to do any of that? That's what this website is intended to provide.
Online Presentation May 24, 2022
Ken Young presented a program on the recent imaging of the Milky Way's black hole: https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/jPK8Klry_EIOcJEFAcr38QYGjmjW5ZZoAjigNEjoruMgScM9ZIlNtHeBYVh88twf.0sv4gSK1PggnQ15C
Passcode: %e9Bqj9=
Online Presentation January 15, 2022
Gabe Brammer presented his work using gravitational lensing to detect a concealed supernova. To view a video recording of the program, click the link below and enter the passcode (must include the "?" at start and "." at end).
Access Passcode: ?NMg9CA.
Contact Us
Have a question? Send us a message, and we will get back to you as soon as we can. You can use the form to the left or contact us by mail or email.
Mailing address:
The Des Moines Astronomical Society, Inc.
PO Box 111
Des Moines IA, 50301
Email address:
The Des Moines Astronomical Society, Inc.
Copyright © 2021 Des Moines Astronomical Society - All Rights Reserved.
Ashton Observatory is located in Ashton Wildwood County Park, Jasper County, IA
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