Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network: Keeping Education in the Dark

摘要

Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network is building a net-work of telescopes ranging in size from 0.4-m to 2.0-m for scientific and educational uses. Most of the educational time will be on the 0.4-m network, of which there will be about twenty. Observations will be able to take place in either real-time or queued modes. The educational arm of LCOGT will be primarily through our new website~1 where there will be how-to guides, research projects with our astronomers, activities, and more including an online community through forums and groups. Registered users will also be able to add additional resources, comment on and rate existing pages, col-laborate in world-wide research projects, and much more. LCOGT education will be a user-driven community, with everyone working to-gether to create a rich website of resources and information. Although the telescopes are not yet available, there is a vast archive of data that is available to the public and combined with all the projects that can be imagined (and many more that can't), there are countless learning opportunities for in and out of the classroom.