Saturday Public Nights - April Through October

Welcome Sky-Watchers!!

Ashton Observatory is now open for the 2025 season. Ashton is open every Saturday night, April through October. One-hour classroom programs will be the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month starting at 8:00 p.m. Stargazing will follow each night as sky conditions allow.

Here are the two programs for June:

June 14: The Milky Way – there’s more to it than you see (JoAnn Cogil)
June 28: Draco’s Realm (Derryl Barr)

Join us each Saturday. Free admission. All ages welcome.

Check the season schedule here.

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!

More information here .

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.

Public Schedule

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.

Find out more

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.

Ashton Observatory

Ashton Observatory

Saturday Public Nights - April Through October

Exploring the Night Sky over Central Iowa

Saturday Public Nights

Private Groups

Recent activities

NASA provides opportunity to use remote telescope

Online Presentation May 24, 2022

Online Presentation January 15, 2022

Contact Us

Get in Touch

The Des Moines Astronomical Society, Inc.