NIU Observatory

NIU Observatory We are an astronomical observatory managed by NIU's Dept of Physics, located on NIU's main campus.

The NIU observatory, mounted on top of Davis hall, is home to a 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflecting Telescope, a 60mm Televue refracting telescope, and several other portable 'scopes. Weather permitting the observatory is open for weekly public viewings, and for other groups by appointment. The observatory dome was added to the existing Davis Hall building in 1965. The original telescope was rep

laced in the year 2000 with funding from the NIU Foundation and NIU dept of Physics. Upgraded go-to controls wireless controls were added in 2024, allowing the telescope to be remotely controlled via tablet. The NIU observatory welcomes hundreds of visitors each year for public viewings, group tours, and other special celestial events.

05/26/2026

Our summer hours have begun and the observatory will be open to the public from 9-11pm this Wednesday evening. This week we'll be checking out Venus, Jupiter and it's moons, as well as our own nearly full moon.
We will also be making another very exciting event announcement this week, so stay tuned for more info.
See you up there!

05/18/2026

The NIU Observatory begins our summer hours this week, and we'll be open Wednesdays from 9-11pm. This week we'll be observing Venus until it sets, and then Jupiter and the Galilean moons. See you up there!

05/11/2026

The Observatory has had the pleasure of hosting all of the local 5th grade students for observatory tours over the past few weeks. We were just adding up our visitor numbers and realized that one of the 5th graders from Founders Elementary was our 2,000th visitor to the observatory since we reopened in 2023! Congratulations to whoever it may have been!

05/11/2026

Congratulations to all our Huskies on finishing the spring semester! Enjoy your well earned summer break!
And speaking of summer, we'll be starting our summer hours next week! We're taking this week off to do some cleaning and repairs, and then we'll be open on Wednesday nights starting May 20th from 9-11pm. Summer hours will be in effect till the students come back in August. See you up there (next week!)

05/04/2026

The NIU Observatory WILL be open for public hours this Wednesday (5/6) from 8-10pm. The bird's nest has been handled and Clarice has been relocated. The forecast is currently calling for clouds, but maybe it will change between now and then. See you up there!

04/30/2026
04/29/2026

Unfortunately, the NIU Observatory will NOT be open for public hours tonight (4/29). We'll be taking this week off due to the fact that a bird has made her nest inside the top of the observatory dome. (We're calling her Clarice.) She's been pretty protective and we suspect she may have eggs up there. We're hoping to have that situation resolved soon, and will keep you all updated.

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04/25/2026

We're super excited for our tour of the Yerkes Observatory today! We'll be sure and post pictures once we get back.

Address

218 Normal Road/Davis Hall
Dekalb, IL
60115

Opening Hours

9pm - 11pm

Telephone

+18157531953

Website

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