John H. Witte, Jr. Observatory

John H. Witte, Jr. Observatory The John H. Witte, Jr. Observatory is operated and managed by the Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club i Witte Observatory by RESERVATIONS ONLY! The JOHN H WITTE JR. W.

The Executive Committee of the Astronomy Club will open the John H. Crowd size, personal safety, and equipment were reasons behind our scheduling change. Same great night sky, just Online scheduling for more viewing opportunities. This new format means the Observatory will not be open on Fridays at this time. Each evening will be limited to 20 visitors. The 90 minute viewing session will begin wit

h a tour of the Observatory facilities and educational materials. And group photo opportunity. Evening availability and to make reservation go to:
https://calendly.com/seiac

Note the dates on the calendar have been selected for the best viewing nights and availability of telescope operators. Always weather permitting. If you have questions, please send us a private message. OBSERVATORY COMPLEX is located in the Big Hollow Recreation Area near Sperry Iowa. The Complex is managed and operated by Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club. The WITTE OBSERVATORY COMPLEX consists of three separate observatories. The JOHN H WITTE OBSERVATORY houses a 12 inch Alvan Clark and Sons refractor manufactured in 1937. The telescope was originally donated to the Burlington School System - Apollo by John H. Witte Jr. a local businessman and amateur astronomer. The observatory was completed with the assistance of funds from his foundation in May 1987. Several years later the PRUGH-CARVER OBSERVATORY was built to house Mr. Witte’s personal telescope, an eight inch refractor made by J. Fe**er in 1931. The STONE-KELLY OBSERVATORY was built to house a 16 inch Ealing Cassegrain telescope relocated from the current Burlington High School in 2003.

12/25/2025

Season's Greetings from Members of the Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club

Here's a website with more information about the North Central Region of the Astronomical League (NCRAL). Our club, the...
11/24/2025

Here's a website with more information about the North Central Region of the Astronomical League (NCRAL). Our club, the Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club, is a member ;-)

North Central Region of the Astronomical League

11/24/2025

These are our fellow astronomers to the North =)

They will be hosting North Central Region of the Astronomical League (NCRAL) annual convention this year. If you have an interest / wonder in astronomy / the night time sky - this is an AMAZING nearby opportunity

Send a message to learn more

Mark your calendars for May15-17, 2026!
11/21/2025

Mark your calendars for May15-17, 2026!

The Cedar Amateur Astronomers will be hosting the 2026 NCRAL (North Central Region – Astronomical League) conference from May 15 through May 17, 2026

One more resource about what Dr. Green presented :-)
09/20/2025

One more resource about what Dr. Green presented :-)

A sample collected by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover from an ancient dry riverbed in Jezero Crater could preserve evidence of ancient microbial life. Taken

Here's a link to a paper Dr. Green authored he referred to in his presentation: "Call for a framework for reporting evid...
09/20/2025

Here's a link to a paper Dr. Green authored he referred to in his presentation: "Call for a framework for reporting evidence for life beyond Earth"

A framework is proposed to start a dialogue on the criteria for assessing claims and supporting evidence for life beyond Earth.

September 18 club members and guests were fortunate to have Dr. Jim Green Zoom and present on the latest news regarding ...
09/20/2025

September 18 club members and guests were fortunate to have Dr. Jim Green Zoom and present on the latest news regarding Mars. The presentation and Q&A following were OUTSTANDING ~ as usual!
If you were unable to attend (I apologize for not posting this as an event on Facebook ahead of time....), here's the recorded video.

Thanks again to Dr. Green for taking the time and energy to share with us

This video was recorded September 18, 2025. Dr. Green presented via Zoom to at the invitation of the Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club. Club members and gue...

07/25/2025
Carol Miller was a past president of our Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club
07/23/2025

Carol Miller was a past president of our Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club

If you've been out to the Witte Observatory, you may recognize this Amazing observational fact as one we are also in awe...
05/17/2025

If you've been out to the Witte Observatory, you may recognize this Amazing observational fact as one we are also in awe of and like to share 🤗💖🤗💖🤗💖

If you weren't able to make it to this Fun and Interesting event, here's a recording 🤗🤗🤗
05/16/2025

If you weren't able to make it to this Fun and Interesting event, here's a recording 🤗🤗🤗

Dr. Jim Green, NASA Chief Scientist (Retired) shared via Zoom with members of the Southeastern Iowa Astronomy Club and guests May 15, 2025. It was WONDERFUL...

Dr Green has been a busy guy this spring! :-)
05/09/2025

Dr Green has been a busy guy this spring! :-)

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18832 152nd Avenue
Sperry, IA
52650

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