Welcome to the Van Allen Observatory website. The University of Iowa Department of Physics and Astronomy maintains these pages as a guide to the Van Allen Observatory (VAO) located on the roof of Van Allen Hall in downtown Iowa City.

View of Phillips, Van Allen, Biology Buildings via Drone Sept 2021

Events

Biology Career Seminar: The Long Road and Why It's Worth It: Becoming a Physician-Scientist promotional image

Biology Career Seminar: The Long Road and Why It's Worth It: Becoming a Physician-Scientist

Monday, November 16, 2026 5:00pm
Virtual
Biology Career Seminar: The Long Road and Why It's Worth It: Becoming a Physician-Scientist

Graduate & Professional Students: Let's Do Lunch!

Tuesday, November 17, 2026 11:30am to 1:30pm
Sciences Library
Bring your academic interests to the table and engage with fellow graduate and professional students in a casual, supportive environment.
Shine Bright for Voyager - A Celebration of Voyager's Legacy  promotional image

Shine Bright for Voyager - A Celebration of Voyager's Legacy

Tuesday, November 17, 2026 5:30pm
Van Allen Hall

NASA’s Voyager 1 will reach a one light-day distance from Earth, an extraordinary milestone marking 16 billion miles of exploration and nearly fifty years of discovery on November 18, 2026, at 2:16am PT. This is the farthest a human-made object has ever ventured. This means even traveling at the speed of light – more than 186,000 miles a second – it would take a whole day to reach Voyager 1 from Earth. It has taken Voyager 1 over 49 years, traveling at about 33,000 miles per hour, to reach this...