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Public Events
Public Open Houses: Open Houses are free, public sessions for stargazing with telescopes that are usually, but not always, held at the West Lafayette Observatory (WLO) or Prairie Grass Observatory (PGO). The events normally include an astronomy-related presentation and constellation finding. In addition to observatory telescopes being made available, club members also share their telescopes with the public to look at various celestial objects of interest. Visitors may come and go as they please. The stargazing portion of the event is cancelled if the weather is mostly cloudy, raining, or very windy.
Public Event Schedule:
Date | Location | Event Description |
|---|---|---|
Jan. 29, 2025 | West Lafayette Observatory | Planet Alignment Viewing. Several planets are currently visible in the evening sky. We will telescopically view the planets from 7-8 p.m. This is an informal free public event. Parking is available in front of the West Lafayette Elementary School. |
Mar 11, 2025 | Tippecanoe County Library - Downtown Branch | This presentation will discuss the Total Lunar Eclipse that will occur during the night of March 13-14, 2025. We'll also talk about our Moon in general, its history and features. If weather permits after the presentation, we'll go outside and observe the almost-full Moon with an astronomical telescope. |
April 5, 2025 | West Lafayette Observatory | Free public stargazing with astronomical telescopes will take place, weather permitting, from 8:30-10 p.m. The Moon will be just past First Quarter. |
May 3, 2025 | West Lafayette Observatory | Free public stargazing with astronomical telescopes will take place, weather permitting, from 9-10:30 p.m. A space or astronomy-related presentation will be given, even if the sky is mostly cloudy. |
June 7, 2025 | West Lafayette Observatory | Public solar observing with specially filtered astronomical telescopes will take place, weather permitting, from 3-5 p.m. A presentation about the Sun will be given. This is a free event. |
June 14, 2025 | Tippecanoe County Amphitheater | Outdoor Explore! This Tippecanoe County Parks and Recreation event showcases summer outdoor activities, including astronomy. WVAS will have a booth to describe our activities and to display and demonstrate use of astronomical telescopes. |
July 22, 2025 | Camp Cullom | Indiana Family Star Party. See https://indianastars.com/starparty/ |
Sept. 6, 2025 | West Lafayette Observatory | Free public stargazing with astronomical telescopes will take place at the West Lafayette Observatory, weather permitting, from 8:30-10 p.m. A space or astronomy-related presentation will be given, even if the sky is mostly cloudy. |
Oct. 4, 2025 | West Lafayette Observatory | Free public stargazing with astronomical telescopes will take place at the West Lafayette Observatory, weather permitting, from 8:30-10 p.m. A space or astronomy presentation will be given, even if the sky is mostly cloudy. |
Nov. 1, 2025 | West Lafayette Observatory | This is our annual "Telescope Fair", intended for people considering the purchase of a telescope. We'll go over the types of telescopes and discuss their advantages and disadvantages and what to look for when making your selection. Several telescopes will be shown. If weather permits, we'll go outside after the slide show and look through different telescopes so you can see the differences. |
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