Many people around Wichita State may not know that objects that are light years away are almost accessible just 20 miles from the city lights of Wichita.

The Lake Afton Public Observatory (LAPO) is a unique part of WSU that brings visitors closer to those objects through its telescopes and offers opportunites to learn more about astronomy. It is located at MacArthur Road/39th St. South and 247th St. West in the Lake Afton County Park.

Director Greg Novacek said it’s comparable to a planetarium, where a picture of the sky is projected onto a ceiling.

At LAPO, visitors can use the 16-inch telescope to see the stars.

“Instead of just seeing pictures of nice things in the sky, you actually get to see them for yourself,” he said.

Novacek said several interactive exhibits about astronomy are available. The observatory has programs on Friday and Saturday evenings from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. throughout the year

“One of the things that we do, unlike a lot of other places, is that we center our programs around a specific theme,” Novacek said.

He said these themes can be the Milky Way or black holes.

Jason Ferguson, associate professor of mathematics and statistics, encourages use of the observatory for some of his astronomy classes and labs.

“I like the fact that they focus on a small group of objects in the universe and how they are connected to each other. Their programs are theme-based and show a particular aspect of the universe that can be interesting or important,” he said.

Program manager Bob Henry said there are two rotating programs, one for dark sky and one for moonlit sky. This summer’s programs are offered through the end of August. The dark sky program is called Black Holes in Space.

“We’ll be looking at types of objects that astronomers either associate with black holes or astronomers use to tell that black holes are there, because obviously you can’t see a black hole… So we’ll be looking at a binary star system, another galaxy, a globular cluster of stars – things like that,” Henry said.

The moonlit sky program is called Moons, Rings and Other Things. During the program, visitors can look at the moon, a specific star and Saturn.

“We talk about planet formation and extra solar planets that we’re now starting to discover a lot of,” Henry said.

A special summer feature at LAPO is Bring Your Own Telescope Night on the third Fridays of July and August. On those nights, the observatory partners with the Kansas Astronomical Observers, a local astronomy club, to help people learn more about different types of telescopes.

“They help people get the most out of their telescopes. Also, people looking to maybe invest in a nice telescope, but don’t know much about them or what they need to look for, they can talk to people at the KAO – they know everything there is to know about telescopes,” Henry said.

In addition to the programs and exhibits, the observatory’s location provides a place away from the bright city lights to see space events, such as the Perseid Meteor Shower, which will occur on Aug. 13 from 12:01 a.m. until 3 a.m.

The observatory will be open during then for regular admission prices to see the exhibits and telescope, but visitors can also just go and sit outside to get a good view of the meteors.

To learn more about the Lake Afton Public Observatory, including important events, admissions prices and upcoming programs, visit www.wichita.edu/lapo.