The Liverpool Telescope

The Liverpool Telescope (LT) has a 2m diameter primary mirror, state-of-the art instrumentation, a fully-opening clam shell enclosure, and is the World's most sophisticated robotic telescope. Its primary mission is to carry out a wide range of front-rank research programmes for an international community of astronomers. These are centred upon investigations of time-variable and transient astronomical sources including Supernovae, Novae, accreting Black Hole sources on various scales, and the optical counterparts of Gamma Ray Bursts. It also conducts observations for school students through the National Schools' Observatory.

The telescope was designed and built on Merseyside by Telescope Technologies Ltd and is owned and operated by Liverpool John Moores University. A pictorial history of the development of the telescope can be found here.

The ARI developed the robotic control software and telescope instrumentation (the latter in some instances in collaboration with partner universities, including Manchester, Imperial College and Southampton). Telescope operations are overseen from the Operations Management Centre at the Astrophysics Research Institute, which also manages the operations of the Faulkes Telescopes (FTs). The LT, together with some of the time on the FTs, forms the basis of the pioneering RoboNet-1.0 project, involving a consortium of ten UK universities, led by ARI.

The LT is located at an altitude of 2400m at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos in the Canary Islands where several nations currently operate some of the world's largest and most advanced telescopes. It has been returning scientific data since early 2004 and delivering images to schools who are members of the NSO since October that year.

Funding for the LT has come from a variety of sources including Liverpool John Moores University, the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, the EU European Regional Development Fund, and the generous benefaction of Mr Aldham Robarts. The telescope is run as a UK National Facility for research on behalf of PPARC.

• Full details of LT operation and application for observing time can be found here.
• Live webcam images can be found here.
• Visitors to the Spaceport visitor centre can see displays on how the telescope works, view examples of the latest science and explore the use of the telescope through the National Schools' Observatory.