Racine Astronomical Society

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Union Grove, WI
Racine Astronomical Society

We're an astronomical observatory and 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to sharing a love of astronomy with communities in South Eastern Wisconsin.

Open to the public on dedicated nights or pay the affordable membership fee for private access! We invite you to come to one of our public nights and view the heavens through our telescopes. We will have the club's telescopes open and many of the club's members will have their telescopes available to view through. Depending on what is up each night, we will view the moon, planets, and many deep sk

y objects. Come out and take a look back in time. For example, when you view the Andromeda galaxy, you are looking back in time 2.9 million years.

06/09/2026

What a great solar day this past Saturday! We had a bright and sunny day with 11 different telescopes set up to view the sun, which put on a great show with many sunspots and prominences clearly visible. If you missed it, there is another chance this fall. Check out the rest of our upcoming events:

https://rasastro.org/upcoming-events/

06/05/2026

Don't try this at home . . . come out to the Racine Astronomical Society this Saturday, June 6th between 1 and 4 in the afternoon for a safe and educational experience for all ages.

Never look directly at the Sun without proper protection - doing so can cause permanent eye damage. At this event, you will be able to safely see the ever-changing surface of the sun through specialized equipment that blocks harmful ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Our knowledgeable members will guide you through the equipment and explain the science behind what you are seeing. Bring your curiosity and enjoy a rare opportunity to explore the dynamic surface of the Sun!

WEATHER DEPENDENT! We hold out hope that the sun will show itself for our event. If it is a predominately cloudy day, we will be unable to observe. We have a second solar day planned on October 3rd.

05/27/2026

See the sun like you've never seen it before! On the afternoon of June 6th, the Racine Astronomical Society will have special solar telescopes set up allowing you to safely view the sun at different wavelengths of light. You will be able to see sunspots many times the size of the Earth and huge arcs of plasma erupting from the surface of the sun.

Weather permitting, we will be open from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Free admission and parking.

https://rasastro.org/event/public-solar-day/

H-a Solar Image: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, Tom Bridgeman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)

05/11/2026

Join us for our Public Night Open House this Friday, May 15th! Free admission and parking. Can't make this one? All our events are posted here on Facebook and on our website: https://rasastro.org/upcoming-events

Donations are appreciated!

05/01/2026

200 guests at our first Public Night Open House of 2026! Thank you for the generous donations, the great questions and to the kids who are participating in this year's Scavenger Hunt. Many are well on their way to completing their cards - remember, our raffle for a telescope will happen in October.

And thank you, RAS Members for volunteering your time.

Our next Public Night is Friday, May 15th from 8pm - 11pm. Join us!

04/24/2026

Come see the stars with us this Saturday April 25 from 8 – 11 PM.

Free admission and parking.

As a non-profit organization that is volunteer run, we encourage a small donation during your visit to help us defray the yearly costs of observatory maintenance and care. We do enjoy having families join us for these events but ask that you keep young children close by (the grounds are not illuminated for better observing) and instruct them to respect the telescope equipment provided by our members. On occasion we may have dozens of visitors waiting in line to observe at a particular telescope and your patience is greatly appreciated. Your many questions are expected and welcomed, since part of our club mission is to educate and inspire each of you to participate in the world of amateur astronomy. The night of the open house there will be a message on the observatory answering machine if the skies are cloudy.

04/16/2026

The Racine Astronomical Society's 2026 open house season kicks off on Saturday, April 25th! Admission and parking are FREE.
If the weather looks like it will not allow for any observing, we will post a message on Facebook and we will leave a message on our answering machine ahead of the 8:00 PM scheduled start time. Find all of our contact information and the rest of our 2026 open house schedule on our website: https://rasastro.org

04/07/2026

What a day for Artemis II - having travelled further from the Earth than anyone has ever gone before - 252,756 miles. There are many wonderful photos coming back from the mission, and here is one you may not have seen yet. Imagine looking out a small window and seeing the tiny crescent Earth. That's all of us down there.

We hope Artemis is getting you excited about space again - our first open house of the year is on April 25th.

04/01/2026

What unfamiliar planet is this?

It's the moon . . . but the side we never see from Earth. This photograph was captured by the navigation camera on the Artemis I mission (NASA photo).

Artemis II is preparing to launch in less than 24 hours, and for the first time in over 50 years human eyes will see the far side of the moon. It’s time to get excited about human space exploration again!

All of us at RAS will be watching, and you can too. NASA provides several ways that you can watch:

https://www.nasa.gov/ways-to-watch/

02/19/2026

Planet Lineup

Get out and enjoy the planet lineup. I went out tonight and took a few pictures of the planets.
Photo 1 has the Moon with Mercury right next to it. Venus is below them along the horizon.
Photo 2 has the Moon and Mercury with Saturn above it to the left. Neptune isn’t visible in the picture, but it is next to Saturn.
Photo 3 is a close up of the Moon with a lot of Earth shine and Mercury next to it.
Photo 4 has Jupiter high above the observatory. Uranus isn’t visible in the picture, but is near M45.
Regards,
Brian

Address

112 63rd Drive
Union Grove, WI
53182

Telephone

(262) 878-2774

Website

http://www.rasastro.org/

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