Intelligent Agents And Robotic Telescopes

dpp writes "Astronomers working on the eSTAR Project have used software "Intelligent Agents" to control the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and observe a dwarf nova. One of the astronomers says "The Agents can detect and respond to the rapidly changing universe faster than any human... [they] can be used to assist human observers, instead of replacing them entirely - augmenting their abilities to do science quicker, faster, and more reliably." Next up: getting results sent automatically to your 2.5G/3G mobile phone (with images!), and deploying on more telescopes including the Liverpool Telescope and the Faulkes Telescopes. The full story is at the Joint Astronomy Centre."

Comments

UK astronomy...

[WIAKywbfatw]

It looks like the UK government is about to propose legislation that would combat light pollution. This would be great for all UK astronomers, especially those of us that live in urban areas.

When I was an undergraduate at University College London, we had to trek up tok to the university's observatory at Mill Hill (as featured in the Omen movies), to do our Practical Astronomy classes and to use the telescopes. Previously though, although how far back in time I'm not certain, the classes were taught using two telescopes housed in domes in the university's front quad, which is practically in the middle of London.

The difference in light pollution between the two sites is amazing. Making observations of Delta Cephi (as required for one assignment, to calculate it's period) was impossible from central London but acheivable even with the naked eye at Mill Hill. Even so, the light pollution there (Mill Hill being a part of London, albeit one that's a few miles out from the centre) was still appreciable.

It would be nice to see the stars from London again, to be able to pick out more than just a few constellations. However, I don't expect the situation to improve any time soon, if at all. I have a sneaky suspicion that the legislation will be more concerned about people who leave their garden lights shining brightly into their neighbours properties than anything else.