Remote access astronomy

Abstract

There is still nothing to beat the excitement and fulfilment that you can get from observing celestial bodies on a clear dark night, in a remote location away from the seemingly ever increasing light pollution from cities. However, it is also the specific requirements for good observing that can sometimes prevent teachers from offering this opportunity to their students. Compromises for a town-based school or college might be to view only bright objects such as planets, or stars of magnitude 4 or brighter because of light pollution, but you would still require a knowledgeable teacher or astronomer and equipment to take outside with the students. Remote access astronomy using robotic telescopes can partly provide a solution to these problems and also opens up the doors to exciting projects that may otherwise be inaccessible to schools and colleges.