Exploring the Universewith the National Schools’ Observatory

Dr Christopher Leigh

(NSO Project Manager)

Liverpool IOP Conference

2nd July 2009

The Liverpool Telescope

Designed to investigate how the Universe changes

Able to react quickly to sudden outbursts of energy

Gamma Ray Bursts

Supernova

Extra-solar planets

Active Galaxies

Asteroids

The Liverpool Telescope

Located on an extinct (we hope) volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma, off the coast of West Africa.

The Liverpool Telescope

Dark skies, good weather and an altitude of 2400m combine to produce around 300 nights each year on which observations can be secured.

The Liverpool Telescope

The telescope is primarily used by:

Professional Astronomers from LJMU, UK, Spain and collaborators

Students on LJMU Undergraduate and Distance Learning Courses

5% set aside for use by schoolchildren in the UK and Ireland

The National Schools’ Observatory

The Liverpool Telescope (LT)

The LT is primarily used by:

Professional Astronomers from LJMU, UK, Spain and collaborators

Students on LJMU Undergraduate and Distance Learning Courses

5% set aside for use by school children in the UK and Ireland

The National Schools’ Observatory

Online link (GUI) between the schools and the telescope

Ensures efficient use of allocated time

Simplify process so that young children (7+) can request images

Protect systems so that professional use is not affected

Approximately 800 pages of news, information, workshops and projects

Built around a facility for children and teachers to request images from the LT

On average, the site serves around 2,200 pages to 500 individual users each day

There are currently around 1,020 schools registered with the NSO

The NSO Portal

www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk

The NSO Website Content

Multimedia content aimed at demonstrating difficult concepts and

adding a bit of fun.

The Go Observing Engine

Pupils select from an observing database of several hundred objectsNo human intervention between request and download (1 to 2 days)Since October 2004, there have been ~13,000 observing requests

LTImage Software

LTImage is the NSO’s own imaging software that allows users to view images from the LT. There are also a number of tools to conduct a basic analysis of the data.

Sample Observations from 2009

NGC 4618

NGC 2776

M1 (Crab Nebula)

M57 NGC 4278

Moon Section

Sample Observations from 2008

Jupiter

Saturn

Moon Section

NGC 7479 NGC 5908

M27 (Dumbbell Nebula)

Moonsaic Projecthttp://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/obs/ulab/

moonsaic/

• The Moonsaic projects have proved very popular.

• Aimed at ages 8 - 12.

• Here we have split a high-resolution image of Moon at quarter-phase into 20 (JPEG) sections, so that schools can download and re-assemble it.

• Around 100 schools took part.

• Other Moonsaics include images of the Moon at full and crescent phase.

Analysing Lunar Craters and Mountains

• Students can use images of the Moon’s surface to undertake a number of tasks, such as:

• Measuring the size and height of lunar craters and mountains.

• Seeing if there’s an even distribution of craters across the lunar surface.

• Aimed at ages 12+.

• The tasks involve taking measurements using the LTImage software (ITC), calibrating the image scale (maths) and determining what uncertainties can arise during the process (practical science).

Mountain shadow.

Extrasolar Planet Hunthttp://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/obs/ulab/ phunt/

• The Planet Hunt project is at the leading edge of scientific research.

• Aimed at ages 14+.

• We have been asked by one of the world’s leading transit-hunting teams (SuperWASP) to monitor a star with a suspected close-orbiting exoplanet.

• Students analyse images of the target and results are combined online.

• The first year (2007/8) of observation suggests we may have caught a new planet emerging from a transit. More data is needed to confirm findings.

Supernova Projecthttp://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/iya2009/

supernova/

• The Supernovae project is investigating recent supernovae to see how the light from them decays over time. The results from students will contribute to our understanding of these relatively rare events.

• Aimed at ages 14+.

Asteroid Hunthttp://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/iya2009/asteroid/

• The Asteroid project gives schools the important task of searching for Near Earth Objects (NEOs) in observations we have taken, and reporting back their positions.

• Aimed at ages 12+.

• Each result further refines the orbit of potentially dangerous NEOs that may one day pose a serious threat to humanity.

A real-world application of technology

The NSO aims to tap into the sense of excitement and wonder that children show towards astronomy, in order to further their

knowledge of Science, ICT and Mathematics (STEM).

Any Questions?

www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk