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Proud to be part of LJMU,
in partnership with the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust

 

Did you know that scientists use special computer programs to explore space? These programs help them control telescopes, take pictures, and plan their observations.

One important thing these programs do is help scientists study pictures of space taken by telescopes.

These pictures are saved in a special file type called FITS, and they contain lots of information that we can't see with our eyes.

But with special software, scientists can uncover all those hidden details!

Image
An image of a star cluster against a black background. Small dots of stars are mostly concentrated in the centre, many of them white in colour but some of them having a blue hue to them. Further out from the middle, a few more stars are scattered around, but they are fewer in number and seem more reddish compared to the others.
Credit
This work by The Schools' Observatory is licensed under All rights reserved
A star cluster image taken by the Liverpool Telescope and analysed by our software

Even though some of these programs might seem hard to use, the Schools' Observatory has made some tools that are easy for anyone to try. They're totally free, and there are guides to help you if you get stuck.

With these tools, you can see pictures taken by the Liverpool Telescope or any other telescope around the world.

So why not start exploring the universe today? There's so much to discover!