Friday Nights Under the Stars at CU's Sommers-Bausch Observatory

Tucked behind Fiske Planetarium on the CU Boulder campus is a rooftop deck that opens to the public on clear Friday evenings, and a lot of newcomers never hear about it. Sommers-Bausch Observatory runs free open houses on most Fridays when CU classes are in session, starting around 8 p.m. (9 p.m. in summer, when daylight saving stretches the light). There is no charge, and you don’t need to be a student. Students and staff point the deck’s telescopes at whatever the night offers, and you climb a short ladder to the eyepiece to see the Moon’s craters, Saturn’s rings, or a faraway galaxy for yourself. If the ladder isn’t your thing, a camera can put the view on a screen.

Two things to know before you go. First, it only happens under clear skies, so check the observatory’s social media or call the recorded status line on Friday night before driving over. Second, the planetarium next door is a separate experience: Fiske’s 65-foot dome, the largest planetarium between Chicago and Los Angeles, runs ticketed full-dome shows, so plan to pay for those.

For the current schedule, the weather status number, and parking notes, check the observatory’s open house page at colorado.edu/sbo/open-houses.