All Astronomy Nights start with a DAS lecturer’s informative, multi-media astronomy presentation. Astronomy presentations are designed for visitors of all ages and may be illustrated with colorful computer graphics shows, videos, and/or whatever audio/visual method is appropriate.
After the presentation, visitors may be treated to telescopic views of the moon, stars, star clusters, planets, galaxies, and nebulae, all through Chamberlin’s historic, 28-foot-long, 20-inch-aperture Alvan Clark-Saegmuller refracting telescope (weather permitting). On cloudy nights, visitors can view and learn about the telescope and receive a tour of the observatory, which includes its various clocks, the meridian telescope, the library, wall displays, and an animated video display of the night sky for that month. DAS volunteers will be happy to answer questions about astronomy, astronomical observing, and the observatory.
Due to overwhelming demand, we have revised our reservation process for Astronomy Nights and added more days to the calendar. We are committed to providing you with the best experience. We hope these changes will make the reservation experience fairer for our guests and make it easier for them to plan and attend.
Please note: When we implemented our new system, our Astronomy Nights were already sold out until March of 2026. We must honor those reservations. Any dates highlighted in grey on the calendar above are completely sold out. We may occasionally have cancellations that open up already-reserved slots, or we may open up a couple of Saturday nights at the beginning of the month. If those tickets become available, they will be highlighted in green above.
Your best chance to acquire tickets prior to March 2026 is to check this page on the first day of each month, between approximately 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. If some Saturdays become available for that month, the tickets will be released accordingly on the first day of the month. You should also monitor our Facebook, Twitter, and Bluesky pages periodically for announcements of any last-minute ticket cancellations.
Once we get into 2026, tickets will be released every month on a rolling schedule:
• 14 slots per Astronomy Night will be unlocked exactly 60 days (86400 minutes) before an event is scheduled (e.g., the Astronomy Night on April 1, 2025, at 7:30 pm, will be unlocked on Feb 1, 2025, at 7:30 pm).
• An additional six slots will be opened on the first day of the month before the event month (e.g., the remainder of the March Astronomy Night events will be unlocked on Feb 1).
• Reservations for our new Saturday Astronomy Nights will open up at the beginning of the month they will be held (e.g., a Saturday Astronomy Night in March would be unlocked on March 1).
* BE AWARE OF ONLINE SCAMMERS. Tickets are NON-TRANSFERABLE to other guests, except through our reservations team. You will not be admitted to an Astronomy Night event unless at least one attendee’s name is on the official guest manifest. The only way to get your name on the manifest is to purchase tickets through this reservations page.