WELCOME TO THE DARK SKY OBSERVATORY
Our next Evening at DSO event will be Saturday, July 27th!
We will be using the 32" telescope to look at a number of targets, including stars, open and globular star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. It will be a dark, moonless night, so you may want to bring a flashlight. We will have red cellophane and rubber bands to attach it to your flashlight or cell phone, to preserve your night vision.
With later sunsets we now will have just one session to sign up for, 9:00 - 11:00 pm. Ticket holders should arrive between 8:30 and 9:00 (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.
If the event is clouded/rained-out at the last minute, we will have indoor activities including a PowerPoint slide show, discussion, and a facility tour. It will be canceled in the event of hopeless weather or dangerous travel weather known in advance. If you get tickets, pay attention to your email, the DSO web site, or our Facebook page for any last minute decisions if dangerous weather is in the area.
See the Public Access area of the DSO website for directions and map to DSO.
See our secure ticketing site for more event details.
See the Public Access area of the DSO site 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).
About 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.