Seeing More Of The Night Sky With A Virtual Telescope

If you do not have your own telescope and want to explore a hobby in astronomy and

don't have the luxury of access to a powerful telescope via an observatory or other avenue, then don't lose hope! Virtual telescopes provide an excellent solution for those who do not possess their own telescope or who do not have access to one at an observatory or other location.

These virtual telescopes provide interactions with innovative instruments within an observatory or space organisation and these telescopes can be used for research and study. These services are also sometimes used by amateur astronomers who own their own telescope, but want access to ultra powerful observatory equipment. There are services available at no cost and others available for a fee.

Microsoft Research's Worldwide Telescope service is an example of a free offering. You either obtain their service via your web browser or via a program that you install on your local computer. This software enables you to delve into the universe, combining imagery from ground and space-based telescopes with 3D navigation.

There are many expert services available from observatories and other organisations that charge a fee. One such service offered by the Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory in Italy can be accessed at http://www.virtualtelescope.eu. These observatories often include facilities where the members have access to the observatory's professional astronomers for assistance and further information.

Services are also sometimes being offered where a member can ask for an astronomer to set up an instrument for an astronomical observation and then view the images via the internet. Some virtual telescope websites provide access to archived materials that can be viewed or allow access to real time pictures of the skies.

Of course another option for virtual telescopes is the ability to combine the power of multiple dishes together, forming a single super mighty virtual telescope and yes this has already been done successfully. In 2008, astronomers at the MIT Haystack Observatory coupled radio dishes together in Hawaii, California and Arizona, producing a virtual telescope more than 2,800 miles across! This enabled them to see detail more than 1,000 times finer than the Hubble Space Telescope and they obtained the most detailed view to date of what many believe to be a large black hole at the center of our galaxy.

The pictures provided by these virtual telescopes are of course far superior to those viewable by an amateur astronomer using their own small telescope and virtual telescopes provide insight into many mysteries of the night sky.

by: James Lowe

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