The Faulkes Telescope Project is an education partner of Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) who in turn are the owners and operators of the telescope network that our members can access. The LCO network consists of over 20 telescopes, with either 0.4m, 1m or 2m diameter primary mirrors. The telescopes are located across the globe, offering continuous visibility of the night sky, ensuring that there is always one telescope that can be used at any time.

The locations of the telescopes that are part of the LCO network, including the Faulkes Telescopes. The location of the two 2-metre Faulkes Telescopes are indicated by green dots, in Hawaii and Australia. The yellow dots indicate the locations of the other LCO observatories, which are also available for use by Faulkes Telescope Project users.

Faulkes Telescope North and South – 2 metre

The Faulkes Telescopes became operational in 2004 as part of the Faulkes Telescope Project, before later becoming part of the LCO network of telescopes. There are two Faulkes Telescopes, one each in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Faulkes Telescope North is located at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii, USA, whilst Faulkes Telescope South is located at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. The telescopes are similar in design and operation to the Liverpool Telescope, located on La Palma in the Canary Islands.

Both telescopes boast a 2 metre diameter primary mirror. The design of the telescope is Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, a type of Cassegrain telescope. The light enters the telescope before reflecting off the primary mirror at the back of the casing. The light is reflected onto a secondary mirror at the centre of the telescope, before being collected by a CCD camera. The telescopes employ alt-azimuth mounts.

The Faulkes Telescopes have made a number of discoveries and unique observations during their lifetimes. In May 2007, Faulkes Telescope South made the first ever observation of a satellite of Uranus passing in front of another. It was also used to measure the rotation speed of the asteroid 2008 HJ, which at the time was the fastest spinning object in the solar system.

0.4 and 1 metre telescopes

The 0.4 metre and 1 metre telescopes make up the remainder of the LCO network, and can also be used by members of the Faulkes Telescope Project. Their smaller primary mirror sizes offer a wider field of view than the 2m Faulkes Telescopes, making them better suited to observations of larger deep sky objects.