The original remote telescope, PIRATE, (pictured left and below) based at Majorca's Observatori Astronomic (OAM), allows students and researchers to observe the Majorcan sky while sitting at their computers in the UK.
PIRATE is a serious research telescope which is used to hunt for exo-planets– planets which are orbiting around distant stars. Students on S382 Astrophysics and SXP288 Practical Science:physics and astronomy also get to operate it so they can learn to make research-grade measurements of the night sky.
They connect to PIRATE from home via a web interface and submit commands to remotely open or close the dome, point the telescope, and get images of the night sky on their computer screens.
As well as having access to the power of a professional 17 inch telescope, they also benefit from the clearer skies of Majorca which give better viewing conditions than in the UK.
Now the University of Hamburg has funded a second remote telescope at OAM which is modelled on PIRATE, and set up using OU expertise.
The OU and OAM will share the facility with Hamburg University, as well as collaborating on research and teaching projects on the PIRATE telescope.
But this facility will be for researchers only, he says. "Students will still be asked to supervise the telescope in person because they need to learn about the issues involved in observing, and that is best done by live control."
He added: "I think the facilities we have built up at OAM are really leading the way, both in terms of how they are operated, and in terms of giving access to students."
Find out more
