Ashton Observatory
The night sky is calling you
Ashton Observatory
The night sky is calling you
A rare comet has been spotted
You may have read that a rare comet is coming into view - hasn't been seen here for 50,000 years. That makes it a pretty special event. Comets are notoriously unpredictable for how bright they might get, so we will have to watch to see. The diagram below shows the position at 1:00 a.m. on Jan. 14 and 21. It will be higher with each passing hour. From day to day it will move up and left as shown. Click the image to expand. To view a video with more details click the button below.
Exploring the Night Sky over Central Iowa
As normal activities resume, this is what we say about DMAS: 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. Admission is free, and for all ages. Saturday Public Nights begin at 8:00 p.m. and sometimes begin with a classroom presentation. Stargazing through the large telescopes in our two 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
We did gather outdoors at Ashton for the recent lunar eclipse on May 15, 2022. It was a beautiful night and a number of visitors stopped by and enjoyed the views. Hope you got a chance to see the eclipse. Here are a few photos from that night taken by a DMAS member.
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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