Las Cumbres Observatory facts for kids
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LCO node at Cerro Tololo, Chile.
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| Founded | September 2005 |
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| Founder | Wayne Rosing |
| Type | Not-for-profit organization, 501(c)(3) |
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Key people
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Lars Bildsten (BoD), Lisa Storrie-Lombardi (President & Observatory Director), Dorothy Largay (BoD), Wayne Rosing (BoD), Michael Skrutskie (BoD) |
| Website | www.lco.global |
Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) is a special network of telescopes around the world. It's run by a non-profit group led by a technologist named Wayne Rosing. Their main office is in Goleta, California, USA.
The cool thing about LCO is that its telescopes are spread out across the Earth. This means they can watch the same space object for more than 24 hours straight! Imagine watching a star without missing a single moment as the Earth spins. The network has two large 2-meter telescopes, nine 1-meter telescopes, and seven smaller 40-centimeter telescopes. They are all connected and work together like one giant observatory. A special computer program helps decide what each telescope should look at and when.
Contents
History of LCO
LCO was started in 1993 by Wayne Rosing. His big idea was to help universities and scientists get better telescopes and tools. He also wanted to build a global system of telescopes that could work together. In 2005, this dream of a global telescope network really started to come true.
At first, LCO got two 2-meter telescopes called the Faulkes Telescopes. One was in Hawaii (Faulkes Telescope North) and the other in Australia (Faulkes Telescope South). LCO even bought the company that made these telescopes! They planned to add more 2-meter telescopes.
But then, the LCO team realized something important. Having many smaller telescopes might be even better than just a few big ones. This way, they could observe more things at once. So, they designed their own 1-meter telescopes. They also made even smaller 40-centimeter telescopes, mostly for schools and learning projects.
Between 2012 and 2013, nine 1-meter telescopes were built and sent to different places. These included observatories in Texas, Chile, South Africa, and Australia. Then, in 2015 and 2016, seven 40-centimeter telescopes were set up in Chile, Hawaii, Australia, and the Canary Islands.
Once all these telescopes were ready, LCO became a truly global observatory. By May 2014, the two 2-meter and nine 1-meter telescopes were working together. The smaller 40-centimeter telescopes joined in later. In 2016, a big science group in the USA, the National Science Foundation, bought access to the LCO network. This means many more astronomers can now use these amazing telescopes for their research.
The Telescope Network
LCO's network is made up of telescopes at seven different professional observatories around the world.
Where the Telescopes Are
The telescopes are located in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. This helps them get a full view of the sky.
In the southern part of the world:
- Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory (CTIO) in Chile
- South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in South Africa
- Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) in Australia
In the northern part of the world:
- McDonald Observatory in Texas, USA
- Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii, USA
- Teide Observatory in the Canary Islands
A new location was also added in Tibet, China, at the Ngari Observatory. LCO also has a 1-meter telescope at its main office in California for testing new ideas. There's also an 0.8-meter telescope at Sedgwick Reserve, California.
Types of Telescopes
- 2-meter telescopes: These are the two Faulkes telescopes. They are very powerful for seeing distant objects.
- 1-meter telescopes: LCO designed these themselves. They have a wide view of the sky, which is great for finding new things.
- 40-centimeter telescopes: These smaller telescopes are perfect for educational projects. They use parts from Meade telescopes but have a stronger LCO-designed base.
What the Telescopes Use
The telescopes have special tools called "instruments" that help them do their job:
- The 2-meter telescopes have cameras that take pictures and tools called "spectrographs" that break light into different colors. This helps scientists learn what stars are made of.
- The 1-meter telescopes use "Sinistro" cameras to take wide-field pictures. They also have "NRES" spectrographs that can study light in very fine detail.
- The 40-centimeter telescopes use SBIG STX-6303 cameras for taking images.
How They Operate
The LCO network works like one giant, smart observatory. When scientists want to observe something, they don't pick a specific telescope. Instead, they tell the system what kind of telescope and instrument they need. Then, a special computer program figures out the best telescope to use and when.
This system is very fast. If something exciting happens in space, like a supernova, the network can start observing it within minutes! Every night, the telescopes also do their own checks to make sure they are pointing correctly and focusing well.
All the data collected by the telescopes is sent back to LCO headquarters. There, it's cleaned up and stored. Scientists can see their observations right away. After 12 months, all the data is made public for anyone to use.
Who Uses LCO?
Scientists from universities and research groups that are part of the LCO team can use the network. Also, observatories that host LCO telescopes get to use them. Since 2016, all astronomers in the USA can use the LCO network thanks to a program from the National Science Foundation. Some science teams and individuals also pay to use the LCO telescopes.
Amazing Discoveries
The LCO network is perfect for studying things that change quickly in space. This is called "time domain astronomy." Because the telescopes are all over the world, they can watch objects continuously. They can also react very quickly when something new is discovered.
LCO telescopes have been used to study:
- Supernovae: These are huge explosions of stars.
- Exoplanets: These are planets outside our solar system. LCO watches them as they pass in front of their stars (called transits) or when their gravity bends light from other stars (called microlensing).
- Asteroids: Small rocky objects in space.
- AGN variability: How the brightness of active galaxies changes.
In 2017, LCO played a key role in two major discoveries:
- They helped find the first visible light from a gravitational wave event. Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time!
- They also helped discover a new type of supernova that exploded multiple times!
Learning with LCO
One of LCO's main goals is to help people learn about astronomy. In 2017, they started a program called "Global Sky Partners." These are groups around the world that use LCO's robotic telescopes to teach students, teachers, and the public about space. By 2019, there were 20 Global Sky Partners helping thousands of people, especially school children, use the 0.4-meter telescopes.
The LCO education team also has its own programs. These programs let anyone interested in astronomy explore science using the robotic telescopes. Some popular programs include "Asteroid Tracker," "Agent Exoplanet," and "Serol's Cosmic Explorers."
See also
- List of astronomical observatories
- Lists of telescopes
- Time-domain astronomy
- RoboNet
