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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Astro Update – August

Astronomy and space news summarized by Don Lynn from NASA and other sources Mass Gap Breached – The largest known neutron star is about 2.2 times the mass of the Sun, which aligns with theoretical projections that predict a neutron star should collapse into a black hole at about this mass. The smallest known black hole is about five solar masses, though there are some controversial measurements of ones somewhat smaller. This agrees with the theoretical mechanisms where massive stars at the ends of their lives explode as supernovas, leaving behind a black hole. The discrepancy between the biggest neutron…
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DAS Donates Telescope to Dark Sky Community Library

By Dena McClung The Denver Astronomical Society donated a new telescope to the West Custer County Library in Westcliffe, Colorado for the public to use. After finding out the library had no telescope to loan, the DAS Executive Board voted several months ago to purchase and deliver a good quality, beginner telescope to the library. The town of Westcliffe, along with neighboring Silver Cliff, have been designated as Dark Sky Communities by the International Dark Sky Association. With help from DAS members Sorin and Jon Groubert, the board selected a Meade StarPro AZ 102mm Refractor, a Barlow Lens, a variable…
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Astro Update – July

Astronomy and space news summarized by Don Lynn from NASA and other sources Relativity Test – One of the principles of Einstein’s theory of general relativity is that all different objects will fall at the same rate of acceleration at any given strength of gravity. Physicists at the University of Manchester, using data from the Nançay radiotelescope in France, completed another stringent test of this by studying eight years of radiotelescope data observing the orbits of a triple star system consisting of two white dwarfs and a pulsar, which is a kind of neutron star that emits radio pulses. They…
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Astro Update – June

Astronomy and space news summarized by Don Lynn from NASA and other sources General Relativity – While Newton’s formula for gravity yields elliptical shapes for orbits, Einstein’s theory of general relativity dictates that orbiting bodies follow an ellipse that moves. Each time around an orbit, the perihelion of the ellipse advances a little bit, rotating about the main mass. This advancing orbit is known as Schwarzschild precession. In most cases this precession is negligibly tiny, but in extremely strong gravity, it shows up. For example, Mercury is orbiting in the strongest gravity of the Sun of any planet in the…
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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.