Largest Robotic Telescope Begins Operations

The Liverpool Telescope, the world’s largest robotic observatory, began operations this week. The 2-metre telescope is operated from Liverpool John Moores University, but it’s actually located in the Canary Islands, and run remotely. The telescope is especially suited to watching astronomical objects which change over time, such as Gamma Ray Bursts, supernovae, asteroids and comets. 5% of its time has been donated to the National Schools’ Observatory program, allowing school children to perform astronomy research.