Liverpool Telescope

The Liverpool Telescope (LT) is a 2-metre (6.6 ft) fully robotic Ritchey–Chrétien telescope that observes autonomously; i.e., it operates without human intervention. Professional astronomers and other registered users submit observation specifications to be considered by the telescope's robotic control system (RCS) at any time of the day or night using an online GUI. Each night the RCS decides for itself what to observe next based on target visibility and weather conditions.[1]

Liverpool Telescope
Part ofRoque de los Muchachos Observatory 
Location(s)Canary Islands, Garafía, Spain
Coordinates28°45′44″N 17°52′45″W
OrganizationLiverpool John Moores University 
Observatory code J13 
Altitude2,363 m (7,753 ft)
Telescope styleoptical telescope
reflecting telescope
robotic telescope 
Diameter2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Websitetelescope.livjm.ac.uk
Location of Liverpool Telescope
Related media on Wikimedia Commons

The telescope had first light in 2003.[2]

Description
Liverpool Telescope Logo

The RCS additionally has a rapid-response capability where it can automatically interrupt regular observations to slew to observe transient phenomena with higher priority, such as gamma-ray bursts.

The LT is one of the largest robotic telescopes in the world [3] and was built by Telescope Technologies Ltd, a subsidiary company set up by Liverpool John Moores University. The telescope is owned by Liverpool John Moores University, and operated by the Astrophysics Research Institute with operational funding partly from STFC. It is sited at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma.

Along with the Faulkes Telescope North and the Faulkes Telescope South, the Liverpool Telescope is also available for use by school children around the world over the internet. The registration and time allocation for the LT is organised by the National Schools Observatory.[4]

The Liverpool Telescope is one of the primary players in the Heterogeneous Telescope Networks Consortium, a global collaboration between major research groups in the field of robotic telescopes which seeks a standard for communication between remote telescopes, telescope users, and other scientific resources.

Plans for an improved version of the telescope, the Liverpool Telescope 2, are underway.[5]

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See also

References
  1. "Liverpool Telescope – Robotic Systems". Archived from the original on 2014-07-20. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  2. Leverington, David (2017). Observatories and Telescopes of Modern Times. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521899932.
  3. "Robot telescope is world's largest". 4 August 2003. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  4. "Liverpool Telescope – National Schools Observatory".
  5. Copperwheat, C. M.; Steele, I. A.; Barnsley, R. M. (1 March 2015). "Liverpool telescope 2: a new robotic facility for rapid transient follow-up". Experimental Astronomy. 39 (1): 119–165. arXiv:1410.1731. Bibcode:2015ExA....39..119C. doi:10.1007/s10686-015-9447-0.
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