Virtual Telescope introduces new, amazing instruments for observing the Cosmos live through the Int

11 January 2011

After four years since it was officially launched in 2006, the Virtual Telescope project (www.virtualtelescope.eu) introduces a new important telescope, accessible via the Internet by professional and amateur astronomers from all around the world. Initially equipped with a 280mm-aperture, remote telescope, later the Virtual Telescope hosted a Celestron 356mm-large scope, installed on a Paramount ME robotic mount and completed with a SBIG SBIG ST8-XME, class 1 CCD camera, plus filters.

This setup has shown incredible capabilities, thanks to its advanced specifications and to the excellent seeing conditions at the observing site (Ceccano, Italy), with an average seeing of 1.7 arcseconds and peaks of just 1 arcseconds. The instrument, accessible through the web interface of the Virtual Telescope project, has shown the sky for free to about 800.000 individuals from 192 different Countries, almost reaching the totality of the worldwide community. Over the last two years, about 100 international, free events where planned. These numbers make the Virtual Telescope the most active, remote astronomical facility on the planet.

These outstanding results pushed the Virtual Telescope staff to evaluate the acquisition of another system, able to enhance further both the public and research activities. A glorious telescope was finally acquired, based on a PlaneWave 17”, corrected Dall-Kirkham optical tube assembly, with a high luminosity and wide corrected field. This optics was installed on another Paramount ME robotic mount and equipped with a SBIG STL-6303E, large format CCD camera and filters. This is the only instrument of this kind installed in Italy and one of the first ones in the world: it sports outstanding optical, mechanical and electronic features.

Both the robotic telescopes now part of the Virtual Telescope project are independently and remotely accessible and they are connected to the Internet with two independent, broadband connections, for the highest real-time control performances. The whole system is served by a network of four computers, controlling the telescopes, the environmental and weather conditions, the observatory facilities and doing the image/data reduction.

“We are very happy with the amazing, growing international success we experienced since we started sharing the Cosmos”, says Gianluca Masi, astrophysicist, owner and scientific director of the Virtual Telescope project: “The new instruments will give a great boost to all our activities, confirming the leadership of this project, which has staked a lot on quality and professionalism of our services and contents.

To celebrate these recent improvements, the Virtual Telescope will host, on the next 25 Jan. 2011 at 20:00 Universal Time, a special online, free event, when our instruments will show in real-time some of the most beautiful cosmic jewels, with the live comment of our scientific team. To join, a computer connected to the Internet is all what is needed, to enter our website (www.virtualtelescope.eu) at the given date and time. Participants will have a chance to win a prize consisting in two hours of free observing time, using our new system!

Contacts:

Dr. Gianluca Masi, PhD

Email: gianluca@bellatrixobservatory.org

Mobile.: +39 334 9236690

Fax: +39 07751800105

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