 Robotic
Telscope Opens Heavens to Children
School pupils across the UK
will be able to gaze at the heavens from a telescope on the island of
Tenerife without ever leaving their desks thanks to a University project.
The Bradford Robotic Telescope
is 8,000 feet up on the edge of an extinct volcano on Tenerife and is
situated on one of the best observatory sites available in Europe.
After a £200,000 upgrade, including
a new telescope, computer system and several webcams, the Bradford Robotic
Telescope is in the final stages of testing.
Project co-ordinator and head
of the University's Department of Cybernetics, Internet and Virtual Systems
Dr John Baruch said: "This will give every schoolchild in Britain access
to the latest astronomical kit - for free."
 Because
the entire system is robotic, pupils can access the telescope, ask it
to make an observation of any part of the sky and the telescope will send
the resulting image back to them.
A dedicated web page for the
telescope also provides schools with teaching materials and projects written
by teachers at Rhodesway school in Bradford.
A webcam on the roof of
the Bradford Robotic Telescope captures the Orion Constellation setting
over Mount Teide on Tenerife.
Although in theory the telescope
could complete 1,000 different observations in one night, Dr Baruch explained
that, in reality, the vast majority of requests were from a list of just
30.
The system includes webcams
that give around-the-clock views of the site and real-time images of the
stars setting over Mount Teide.
The project is funded by the
Nuffield Research Foundation and the Royal Society to promote the teaching
of astronomy in schools.
Currently being tested among
young members of the Nuffield 21st-Century Science Group, it is hoped
that the Bradford Robotic Telescope will be fully up and running soon.
For more information, go to
www.telescope.org
28 September
2004
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