Drake Municipal Observatory

Drake Municipal Observatory

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Friday public nights start at 8:00 PM, Spring and Fall. Summer TBD. See website for current schedule.

Photos from Drake Municipal Observatory's post 05/18/2026

It was a stormy Friday Night, not very good for looking at the sky but a full house got to look at some of the weird and wonderful telescopes from the past and browse around our own unique facility. This was our last public night for the Spring, but we will be open again on June 26th starting at 9:00 PM (see website for details). We will try to meet another time or two before the Fall semester if there is an interest. Hope to see you soon, Herb.

Photos from Drake Neighborhood Notebook's post 05/14/2026
05/14/2026

Join us to talk about some of the most unique telescopes ever built and the diverse information we can get from each of them. We will try to start promptly at 8:00 PM. Come early for the best seats!

05/11/2026

A lot of clouds, a little rain, a couple people got to see Jupiter during a break in the clouds, nevertheless, an overflow crowd showed up for our look at sixty years of the exploration of the Red Planet.

05/08/2026

Join us for the 60-year exploration of the planet Mars this Friday. Hoping for clear skies and another full house. Starts at 8:00 PM.

04/30/2026

Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Dark Sky. Why is everything so dark? Join us at 8:00 PM Friday night for part 2 of Cosmology. As always, free and open to all.

Photos from Drake Municipal Observatory's post 04/27/2026

Another full house for one of our Open Topic Discussions, coupled with clear skies for stargazing, featuring the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and three far far away galaxies.

04/20/2026

A surprisingly full house for a cold and rainy public night last Friday. Before everyone left Jupiter and Venus popped out from the clouds for a closeup. See you this Friday for Open Topic Night!

04/17/2026

Cosmology I: What's Behind the Stars. Join us Friday night at 8:00. Resistance is Futile.

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Location

Address


4898 Observatory Road
Des Moines, IA
50311