Van Allen Observatory

10/15/2026

Join as this Friday night for the Astronomy Public Talk and Observing! UI undergraduate Sydney Tune will be giving a talk on Solar Wind Characteristics During Low Density Periods from 7:30-8pm in VAN 301. Public Observing will follow from 8-10pm on the Van Allen Hall roof, weather permitting.

10/01/2026

Join us on Friday night for the Astronomy Public Talk and Observing! UI undergraduate Meredith LeFevre will be giving a talk on Red Supergiants in the Andromeda Galaxy, from 7:30 - 8pm in VAN 301. Public Observing will follow from 8-10pm on the Van Allen Hall roof.

09/04/2026

08/20/2026

Join us this Friday, 8/21, for the Astronomy Public Talk and Observing! This week's talk will be on "The Curious Case of Rapidly Rotating Stars", presented by UI grad student Sadie Kobos and will occur in Rm. 301 of Van Allen Hall. Public Observing will follow from 9-11pm on the Van Allen Hall roof. Both events are free and open to the public!

08/04/2026

Join us this Friday, August 7th for the next Astronomy Public Talk and Public Observing! This week's talk will feature a presentation by UI Physics & Astronomy undergraduate student Griffin Carroll, who will discuss how astronomical images are stacked and enhanced with software. The talk will be hosted in VAN 301, from 8:30-9pm, with observing to immediately follow from 9-11pm, weather permitting.

07/15/2026

Looking for Friday night plans? Look no further! Join us for a night of stargazing and fun this Friday, July 17th from 9-11pm! All ages welcome.

06/08/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Astronomy Public Talk this past Friday to hear about spectroscopy from UI graduate student Philip Griffin! We hope you enjoyed the demos, and had fun learning all about light with us, even if the weather was not on our side for observing.

04/16/2026

Due to extreme weather conditions forecasted for tomorrow night, we are postponing this talk and Public Observing. Please stay home and stay safe!