Current Exhibits
What's on display at the Observatory now.
Watcher of the Sky: Making and Remaking the Detroit Observatory
June 2, 2025
From cornerstone to keystone, from the first director to the people who saved it from destruction, explore the life of a historic observatory 170 years in the making.
Digital Exhibits
Our online exhibits are just a click away.
A New Universe of Research
March 20, 2023
In the late 1800s, new technologies revolutionized astronomy. But U-M missed out – that is, until William Hussey returned to campus. Learn about the ways in which the University of Michigan returned to the forefront of astronomical research.
What Time Is It? How “Observatory Time” Changed the City of Detroit and Beyond
March 11, 2022
Trains crashing. People dying. Businesses struggling. The perils of keeping incorrect time in Detroit were significant, and the city desperately needed a solution. A visionary academic, a businessman, and new technology to plot the stars would converge at the Observatory, changing Detroit—and the campus—forever.
Aiming for the Stars: Early Women Astronomers and the Detroit Observatory
February 4, 2022
Explore the development and impact of astronomy for women at the University of Michigan. Created in collaboration with the Bentley Historical Library and the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), this exhibition gives a unique look into the lives of early women astronomy students at the D.O. and the impact as they pursued their professional careers.
Recorded Talks and Presentations
Videos of talks and presentations at the Observatory
Arts & Resistance: “Reimagining Mars: From ‘Canals’ to the Russian Revolution”
October 23, 2023
This talk dives deep into the so-called “canals” of Mars — first described in 1877 by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli — and how they made Mars a central landscape in many works of fiction in the late 19th and early 20th century.
U-M Astronomy Thinking Big: From the Detroit Observatory to the 39 Meter ELT
October 23, 2023
Science@DO is joined by U-M Astronomy Professor Michael Meyer to share the story of how Michigan got involved with the biggest optical telescope in the world.
Making Michigan
July 12, 2023
The Detroit Observatory hosts the Making Michigan series of talks on the history of the University of Michigan. Videos can be found on the Making Michigan website.
