Remote Stargazing
- 29th Mar 2017
- Author: Josh Barker
Stargazing can be one of the simplest hobbies you can undertake. Just a pair of eyes and clear night is all you need. However, with a dazzling array of telescopes, filters and cameras available it can get very complicated, and expensive, quickly. Nowadays there exist tools to make access to some of this equipment a little easier. One of these services is the Faulkes Telescope Project.
This project allows schools and educational institutes to book time on a global network of telescopes. This means they can observe the night sky without needing their own costly equipment and having to worry about difficult maintenance. The Faulkes Telescope Project allows schools to request images or they can book their own observing session to control the telescope and capture images directly.
The Faulkes Telescope Project has two main ways of acquiring data. You can request an image of a certain object or location in the night sky. The automated system then slots in your request when it can within the next 2 weeks and returns an image to you. The other method of operating the telescope is to book a private slot. These slots come in 15-minute chunks but you get to specify which telescope to use and what the telescope is observing for that time period. This allows you to know exactly when your images are coming and you can even follow along live as they are captured.
We recently joined the project to look at capturing some images for our upcoming Space Lates event. We used a 15-min slot to take a full colour image of a galaxy in the southern hemisphere. We were able to use a telescope based in Siding Springs, Australia. This was very exciting for the team here at the National Space Centre. While many of us are avid star gazers, getting to see something from the southern hemisphere was a rare treat.
The Faulkes Telescope Project provides a fantastic resource allowing educational institutes to stargaze. However, one of our favourite things about stargazing is that you can do it without any special equipment. It is one of the easiest activities to engage in, you simply need a clear night and your eyes (sometimes a coat and a warm drink are useful to have as well). If you want a deeper look people often ask what equipment to invest in. Here at the National Space Centre we always suggest people start small with maybe a pair of decent binoculars or a small telescope and work their way up.
Of course, there are ways into the hobby without necessarily buying your own equipment. Across the country there are many friendly local astronomical societies who provide a great social environment to stargaze with friends. Many of their members have equipment they would be happy to let you use, they can provide expert advice and many of them maintain links to planetaria and other observing organisations. So, we encourage you to find your local group and join in the stargazing fun.
