Des Moines Astronomical Society
Des Moines Astronomical Society
  • Home
  • The Sky
  • Public Schedule
  • Private Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Our Observatory
    • Photo Album
    • Join
    • History
    • Mission
    • Board Members
    • Member Bulletin Board
  • Members
  • More
    • Home
    • The Sky
    • Public Schedule
    • Private Groups
    • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Our Observatory
      • Photo Album
      • Join
      • History
      • Mission
      • Board Members
      • Member Bulletin Board
    • Members
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • My Account

  • Signed in as:

  • filler@godaddy.com

  • My Account

  • Sign out

Signed in as:

filler@godaddy.com

  • Home
  • The Sky
  • Public Schedule
  • Private Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Our Observatory
    • Photo Album
    • Join
    • History
    • Mission
    • Board Members
    • Member Bulletin Board
  • Members

Account

  • My Account

  • Sign out

  • Sign In
  • My Account
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs=

Ashton Observatory

Ashton ObservatoryAshton ObservatoryAshton Observatory

The night sky is calling you

Ashton Observatory

Ashton ObservatoryAshton ObservatoryAshton Observatory

The night sky is calling you

Every Saturday - April Through October

Weekly Saturday Public Nights have begun at Ashton Observatory. Free admission. All ages. Activities get going by 8:00 p.m. 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.

The Observatory Tonight

Due to prediction of severe thunderstorms tonight and chance of large hail, the observatory will stay closed tonight, Sep. 23, 2023.

Saturday - September 16, 8:00 p.m.

Come to Ashton Observatory on Saturday, September 16, 8:00 p.m., for a great classroom program. Join Derryl Barr as he presents “Great American Eclipse Part-II: 14Oct2023; 08Apr2024.” For years Derryl has traveled the world to observe dozens of solar eclipses.

Stargazing through Ashton's large telescopes will follow as sky conditions allow.

Download an article about the coming solar eclipse opportunities:

ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE_v02 (pdf)Download

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. 

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. 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.

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

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. 

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). 

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/GofF2CrFqUKXu62hrgXLkNh61T-K3DaQzHiQg95EoIk-kRzGJKUh5iIEBGp1pQ-_.A4h_sPluaO7jlCG2 

Access Passcode: ?NMg9CA.

Contact Us

Get in Touch

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

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: 

info@dmastronomy.com

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

Powered by GoDaddy