Students who want to become astronomers in the North West will not only learn about the stars and planets from books but they will also have the opportunity to see them in real life.

An excited North West University vice-chancellor Professor Dan Kgwadi said this ahead of the launch of an astronomy telescope on Friday.

The telescope is a 16-inch Meade LX200 GPS, housed at the Mahikeng Astronomical Observatory. It will be operated remotely, allowing learners and educators to access it from anywhere in the country, making it a powerful teaching tool.

Kgwadi said the telescope would connect the Mahikeng campus with the world.

"The good part of it is that it's going to connect the neighbouring community and the students with the heavenly bodies; one can say that."

Minister of science and technology Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane will launch the project, putting the institution on par with others like the University of Cape Town.

Kgwadi said the institution was very proud.

"Because not only are we going to use it as a teaching and research tool, we will also use it for the community to access the stars," he said.

He said the university would be having viewing sessions for students and locals.

Kgwadi said the observatory telescope would also take the quality of teaching at the university to another level.

"The data that will be collected from that telescope will be shared nationally and internationally," he said.

North West University has produced four students with PhD degrees in astronomy at its Mahikeng campus. It also has two space scientists, as well as many other physicists.

The university's communication officer Phenyo Mokgothu said the project was funded by the department of science and technology.

He said top astronomers had also been to the campus to do research, demonstrating that the programme had potential for further growth.

"It also demonstrates the country's growing capabilities in the field, led by world-class projects like the building of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope, which is exciting the global scientific community," he said.

Mokgothu said it would be used for bright star research 60% of the time, allowing astronomers at the Mahikeng campus to study the interiors of stars, and their evolution.

"It will also be used for outreach purposes in communities and across the country as it can be operated remotely."