Sharing the Night Sky with the Public Since 1949

For over seventy-five years, the Denver Astronomical Society has brought together stargazers across the Denver metropolitan area and beyond. The society hosts dozens of events and activities yearly to promote amateur astronomy across our unique region, one mile nearer the stars.

June

8:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Open House

Looking for a FREE fun family activity? Join the Denver Astronomical Society for our monthly Open House Saturday night at dusk. This event will occur on the south lawn of DU’s historic Chamberlin Observatory, 2930 E. Warren Avenue, Denver. Weather … Read More ...

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Skyward – October 2023

By David Levy Pons-Brooks: A comet for the centuries. When David Rossetter and I began our observing session at the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association’s Chiricuaha Astronomy Complex on the evening of August 5, 2023, we did not expect that we would be treated to an evening of cosmic history. That was the night we glimpsed Comet Pons-Brooks, a comet with an orbit that, like Halley’s comet, takes almost a human lifetime to orbit the Sun .I might have spotted it the night before, but on this night David and I saw the same thing, a spot of haze in the…
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Observing The S.M.A.R.T. Way

By Mike Hotka You have a telescope and take it out under dark skies, those skies that are full of stars. You look up in awe and then start trying to find something to look at. You may start out by viewing the solar system objects. The Moon is cool to see. So are the brighter planets. You may progress to things you’ve heard called Messier objects. These objects are pretty easy to find and cool to look at in your telescope. For the next few outings, you may revisit these same objects, or add newer Messier objects you did…
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A gracious thank you to our volunteers

We received the following thank you letter for an Outreach Event we held at Roxborough State Park last month. Thanks to our own Steve Barr, Sam Brandt, Seth Weisbrook, and Ed Morrell for making this a success. This is why we do what we do! Delayed thanks for a superb evening of night sky viewing back on September 22…Aelin and I were so pleased with how everything turned out that evening: the perfect weather, the great turnout of DAS astronomers and their telescopes, the high attendance rate of those who had signed up for the event (and we had 60…
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How did it all begin for me?

By Mike Hotka In 1983, my family and I moved from San Antonio to Garland, TX. A short time after that, I learned of the Texas Astronomical Society and became a member. In the process of moving our belongings to Garland, I decided to get my 12.5” f/8 Newtonian telescope operational. I made the primary and secondary mirrors removable from the tube and built a collapsible Dobsonian mount to help transport this telescope to dark sky sites. Many of you might remember my black and white, hexagon tube telescope: I would haul my 12.5” telescope out to TAS’s dark sky…
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Chamberlin Observatory Tours

The Denver Astronomical Society hosts weekly and monthly events* at the University of Denver’s historic Chamberlin Observatory, which features its prized 1894 Alvan Clark-Saegmuller 20-inch refracting telescope. The Observatory serves as the DAS home base for numerous Astronomy Nights, Open Houses, and special events throughout the year.

Due to overwhelming demand, we are changing how we reserve our Astronomy Nights and adding more to the calendar. For details, see our Reservations page.

If you have any questions about EXISTING reservations or want to change your existing reservation, email us at reservations@denverastro.org.

M•45 – Pleiades, Seven Sisters, Subaru image by Darrell Dodge

Astrophotography Special Interest Group

The Denver Astronomical Society (DAS) has established a Special Interest Group amongst its members devoted to Astrophotography. Do you want to learn or improve your skills in astrophotography? Do you enjoy viewing pictures of the Sun, Moon, Planets, or Deep Sky Objects? Can you take similar images? You may have skills that you could pass on to novice members. Consider joining DAS and being part of this Special Interest Group. Please email us for more information. astrophotogroup@denverastro.org

The Van Nattan-Hansen-Anderson Scholarship

Established in 1973, the DAS Van Nattan-Hansen-Anderson Scholarship supports graduating high school and undergraduate college students majoring in astronomy and the physical sciences. Interested and eligible students are invited to apply for funding on the Scholarship Page.