The Department operates the Ball State University Observatory and the Planetarium. These facilities are used to train students and teachers in the use of astronomical instruments for research and in the creation of exciting and imaginative programs for public education.

Three faculty members are involved in research in observational astronomy and a fourth is active in research in nuclear astrophysics. Several additional faculty members regularly teach astronomy courses for non-science majors. The areas of active research in astronomy center on observational stellar astronomy using data collected at the BSU Observatory, the SARA telescope on Kitt Peak in Arizona, and other national facilities such as the National Observatories at Kitt Peak, Cerro Tololo in Chili and Earth-orbiting space observatories.

Public programs are offered in the planetarium on a regular basis and in the observatory when interesting celestial events take place. These outreach activities include open evening planetarium presentations for the general public and special, scheduled educational programs for school groups.