Dark Sky Observatory

Appalachian State University's Dark Sky Observatory (DSO) is the research facility used by faculty and their students to conduct observational research in astrophysics. It is equipped with four telescopes, each used regularly for CCD imaging and photometry, with spectrographic instrumentation also used at the 32-inch.

Established in 1981, the observatory is located about 20 miles northeast of Boone at an elevation of a kilometer. Far from major cities, its dark skies provide a good setting for digital imaging and spectroscopy done in stellar and solar system research projects. Details about the instrumentation and capabilities of the various telescopes is available at the Facilities link at the top of this page.

The next Event at DSO will be ours for the 2025 NC Science Festival's Statewide Star Party, on Saturday, April 5!

This event is free but you must get a ticket. There are two sessions available for you to choose from-8:00 - 9:30 and 10:00 - 11:30 (please sign up for only one of the sessions, to allow more people to experience the event.  Ticket holders should arrive between inthe half-hour before their session starts (DSO is about 40 minutes from Boone). The session will begin with a short PowerPoint about the activities and the objects that will be observed.

For this night we have a first quarter Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and star clusters and galaxies.

We will also have our normal April event on the 26th. Ticketing for that will be set up after the Star Party event.

See our secure ticketing site for more event details and to get tickets.

See the Public Access page for directions and map to DSO. All phone map apps (Google, Waze, Apple Maps) will lead you there if you search for "Dark Sky Observatory" (in Purlear, NC).