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.
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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