Peoria Astronomical Society

06/19/2026

https://www.wcbu.org/local-news/2026-06-18/peoria-astronomical-societys-summer-viewings-at-northmoor-observatory-surpass-7-decades

This Saturday night brings the last sunset before the summer solstice arrives early Sunday, beginning the longest day of the year. If the evening skies stay clear, it could be a great night for stargazing at the century-old Northmoor Observatory in Donovan Park.

06/18/2026

Just a heads up:

On Thursday, June 18, WCBU will air an interview with Dan Son & Chris Schmidt as a short WCBU Reports segment at 6:45 and 8:45 a.m. We'll be talking about our annual public viewing season, which is currently underway at Northmoor Observatory.

If you miss the broadcast, you should be able to access it later on the WCBU website.

06/12/2026

Mammatus Clouds after the June 11th Storm.

06/01/2026

05/31/2026

Keep the date! During the day on June 17th at 2:45pm the Moon will occult (pass in front of) the planet Venus. This is a binocular and small-telescope event. You do not need high magnification, but you do need careful positioning and strict Sun avoidance. Never sweep near the Sun without verified separation and obstruction. Viewing the Sun with binoculars or telescope will cause serious permanent eye damage even blindness. Venus is bright and it may be a naked eye viewing, just look for the moon and you might see Venus next to it before the occultation. Reappearance will be about 1 hour and 16 minutes later.
Photo by Ravindra Aradhya from 2017

05/10/2026

Northmoor opening this and every Saturday from May 16th till October 17th. Sunset till 10:00pm or maybe later if we have a crowd. Weather permitting, no show for rain and if cloudy we should be open to see the scope but not using scope if too cloudy.

05/08/2026

If you missed the broadcast, here is Dan's interview on the Greg & Dan Show

Greg and Phil talk with Dan Son, Chairman of the Northmoor Observatory, about the history of the observatory and how it became the first observatory in Illin...

05/03/2026

This Thursday at 8:40 a.m., tune in to the Greg and Dan Show (1470 and 100.3 WMBD Radio).

Dan Son will talk about PAS's historic Northmoor Observatory's and this year's viewing season, when PAS opens Northmoor to the public Saturdays at sunset from mid-May to mid-October.

Of course, PAS couldn't do this without our keyholders and helpers, who've made this happen every year since Northmoor opened in 1955. 🙂