Using the Liverpool Telescope for the First Time

Using the Liverpool Telescope for the first time can seem challenging but we've done lots of work to create a system called Go Observing that makes it as simple as possible!

Go Observing guides you through the task of requesting an observation, and can even help you decide what to observe if you are coming to it without any ideas. You should have a go at requesting an observation yourself before using Go Observing in the classroom. It's extremely easy to do.

There is a Go Observing Video Screencast showing how Go Observing works, and that might be the best way to see how easy Go Observing is to use. The video lasts less than 5 minutes, and then you can have a go at requesting an observation yourself!

Step-by-Step Instructions for Observing a Galaxy

The steps below show the same steps that you will see in the video, but this time they are for observing a galaxy.

1. If you are not already logged in, do that now.
2. Click Go Observing in the top menu.
3. Select Galaxies from the menu.
4. You then see a page with various observing programmes you can do related to Galaxies. For a basic observation click on Observe a Galaxy.
5. You will be presented with a list of possible galaxies you can request an observation for. Choose the galaxy that has the highest chance of being observed during the next few days. The colour bar indicate the likelihood of an early observation. Today is on the very left of the bar next to each galaxy. When you have selected your galaxy, click Submit Observation.
6. You will be shown a screen confirming your observation has been sent to the telescope and details of the observation you have submitted. To make life easy at this stage, the Go Observing interface chooses the filter and exposure time for you. In other projects you might be able to choose these yourself.
7. You can check on the Status of your observation at any time by going to My Observations. In 24 hours come back to the TSO website to see if your observation has been completed. If it has not, then try again the next day and so on until your observation is completed. You will see on the homepage the status of your recent observations if you are logged in.
8. When your observation is complete, you will be told it is ready for download. You can download your image and open it in our software so that you can see your galaxy. You will probably need to scale the image in order to see the galaxy. You will find instructions on how to do this in the View Images section of the website.