Towards the end of 2017, the team at the Faulkes Telescope Project were excited to announce that we would be returning to real-time observing with the LCO telescopes.

Using an interface developed exclusively for us by the team at LCO, we sent out requests to schools to test the new interface and try out the ‘new’ mode of observing.

One group which jumped onboard with using the new interface was students in the 7th grade (11-12 yr olds) at Adolfo Portela High School (Agueda, Portugal), who used the real-time observing mode to study the Universe from their classroom. Below is a report, written by their teacher Alvaro Folhas, on how this observing went:

“Students of teacher Álvaro Folhas had the opportunity to explore the sky of the Southern Hemisphere during their Physics and Chemistry class.

They realized there are astronomical objects characteristic of each hemisphere, and they understood better the importance of using R.A. / Dec coordinates to point to the desired objects. In addition to the magnificent experience that it was felt that this equipment was being controlled by us, thousands of miles away, they got the notion that the brightness of each astronomical objects determined different times of photographic exposure for the capture of light, and that these photographs were all images of the past. It was an unforgettable experience, not just by the issues learned, but also because it reinforce strongly the taste for Science, particularly for Astronomy. ”

Álvaro, the teacher of these classes said ”… this is a fantastic way to rekindle the brightness in the eyes of our students, and develop in them skills and desire to discover science. I want to thank the Faulkes Telescope Project / LCO and its fantastic team, on my personal behalf and on behalf of my students, these opportunities to open windows to the Universe.”