Using new robotic telescopes, students will soon be able to take pictures of the universe from their classrooms, writes Dick Ahlstrom
Students of all ages will soon be able to study the cosmos from a new observatory based on the River Lee in Cork city. It is there to support research, but the public will also have access, and school students will be able to operate large telescopes remotely from their classrooms via the internet.
"Cosmos at the Castle" is the working title currently attached to the €4 million project at Cork's Blackrock Castle, says Cork Institute of Technology lecturer Dr Niall Smith. CIT is heading the observatory side of the project, which will also see significant renovation to the castle itself.
Blackrock Castle sits on the Lee about a mile from the city centre. Built in the early 1600s, it was originally there to help repulse pirates sailing up the river, says Smith. It takes on a decidedly 21st-century flavour in its latest reincarnation, however, with two optical telescopes and a radio telescope being fitted along with full robotic linkages so they can be controlled remotely. The castle will also house a science centre.
CIT floated the idea for the observatory when it received an offer of money from a benefactor, says Smith. "A businessman approached us and said it was good we have physics and chemistry but we don't have people observing." The institute agreed and came up with the idea of putting a robotic observatory into Blackrock Castle, a site which it knew was available.
CIT put the proposal to the city council in Cork, which has responsibility for the castle. "To our surprise and delight the city council came back and said they wanted to promote Cork's history but also its future," says Smith. "It is fantastic. We still have to pinch ourselves. The city council and manager have been so supportive of this."
The total cost including refurbishment of the castle plus equipment will run to about €4 million, says Smith. "What we have been doing for the last year and a bit is working on the refurbishment of the castle."
The original donor backed out but another generous yet anonymous person stepped forward and offered to pay for all the instruments and the equipment needed to control them. "About half the castle is given over to an astronomy centre," says Smith, but it is also a very real research centre.
"We wanted a unique facility where we had the two hand in hand, research and public access," he explains. "The idea is students and the public can come in and have a look. We wanted to have the real thing there for kids to see."
Yet it is also a centre for third-level astronomical research. "The ethos is that we can do research which is high quality, peer-reviewed," says Smith. CIT received Science Foundation Ireland funding of €185,000 under its Research Frontiers Programme to develop high-speed astronomy.
This dual role is reflected in the quality of instruments that will be made available via Cosmos at the Castle. CIT will install two optical reflectors, a 45cm and 25cm, plus a radio telescope. All of these can be controlled remotely, but the project will also support remote access to large international telescopes, Smith explains.
The scheme allows access to a 1.5- metre and a 40cm reflector in South Africa and negotiations are under way to allow access to a 1.2-metre instrument in Greece. Taken together, the telescopes will allow CIT students to pursue high -quality research, but school students will also benefit.
Students can access the instruments "from their schools via the internet", says Smith. "We are encouraging schools to ask us to take pictures for them. It is all about having a presence in Cork."
The astronomy centre will have a variety of displays and exhibits and an orrery, a large "map" showing the relative positions of the planets in our solar system, will be installed in the castle courtyard. The new centre is expected to open to the public this September.
Smith believes there is a good level of public interest in the project, and hopes people won't be put off because it is just about science. "This is not an ivory tower. It is not intimidating, it is welcoming," he says.