Editing Liverpool Telescope

{{short description|Telescope at Garafía, La Palma, the Canary Islands, Spain}}
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The '''Liverpool Telescope''' ('''LT''') is a two-metre-aperture{{efn|6.6-foot in imperial terms}} [[robotic telescope|robotic]] [[Ritchey–Chrétien telescope]] that observes autonomously (without human intervention). However professional astronomers, school groups and other credible registered users submit specifications to be considered by its robotic control system (RCS) at any time using an online [[graphical user interface]]. Each night the RCS decides among these choices, and among any notified or glimpsed transient events, what to observe, based on target visibility and weather conditions.<ref>{{cite web | title = Liverpool Telescope – Robotic Systems | url = http://telescope.livjm.ac.uk/Info/TelInst/Robotic/ | access-date = 2013-03-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140720004138/http://telescope.livjm.ac.uk/Info/TelInst/Robotic/ | archive-date = 2014-07-20 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The telescope had first light in 2003,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o0xsDQAAQBAJ&q=Liverpool+Telescope+first+light&pg=PA125|title=Observatories and Telescopes of Modern Times|last=Leverington|first=David|date=2017|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521899932|language=en}}</ref> and is the brainchild and property of [[Liverpool John Moores University]].

== Description ==
[[File:Liverpool Telescope.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Liverpool Telescope Logo]]

The RCS has a rapid-response capability where it will often automatically interrupt regular observations to slew (shift) to observe short-lived events with higher priority, such as [[gamma-ray burst]]s.

The LT is one of the largest robotic telescopes in the world<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3123041.stm | title = Robot telescope is world's largest | date = 4 August 2003 | accessdate = 6 March 2013}}</ref> and was built by a subsidiary {{efn|Telescope Technologies Limited}} set up by [[Liverpool John Moores University]] who own and masterminded it. It is operated (maintained) by the [[Astrophysics Research Institute]], partly funded by the UK's [[Science and Technology Facilities Council|STFC]]. It is at the [[Roque de los Muchachos Observatory]] on [[La Palma]].

Along with the [[Faulkes Telescope North]] and [[Faulkes Telescope South|South]], it is available for use by school children around the world over the internet. The registration and time allocation for the LT is organised by the National Schools Observatory.<ref>{{cite web | title = Liverpool Telescope – National Schools Observatory | url = http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/astro/tels/lt }}</ref>

The Liverpool Telescope is one of the primary players in the Heterogeneous Telescope Networks Consortium, a global collaboration between major research groups in the field of robotic telescopes which seeks a standard for communication between remote telescopes, telescope users, and other scientific resources.

Plans for an improved version, the Liverpool Telescope 2, are underway.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Copperwheat|first1=C. M.|last2=Steele|first2=I. A.|last3=Barnsley|first3=R. M.|title=Liverpool telescope 2: a new robotic facility for rapid transient follow-up|journal=Experimental Astronomy|date=1 March 2015|volume=39|issue=1|pages=119–165|doi=10.1007/s10686-015-9447-0|arxiv = 1410.1731 |bibcode = 2015ExA....39..119C |s2cid=54641125}}</ref>
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==See also==
* [[List of largest optical reflecting telescopes]]
* [[List of large optical telescopes]]

==Notes and references==
;Notes
{{Notelist}}
;References
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Liverpool Telescope}}
* [http://telescope.livjm.ac.uk/ Liverpool Telescope website]
* [http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/ National Schools' Observatory] – allocates observing time to schools
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120220152936/http://robonet.lcogt.net/ RoboNet] – controls telescopes over the internet
* [http://telescope-networks.org Heterogeneous Telescope Networks Consortium]
* {{cite web|title=Liverpool Telescope|url=http://www.deepskyvideos.com/videos/telescopes/liverpool_telescope.html|work=Deep Space Videos|publisher=[[Brady Haran]]}}

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[[Category:Astronomical observatories in La Palma]]
[[Category:Astronomy in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Liverpool John Moores University]]
[[Category:Robotic telescopes]]
[[Category:Science and Technology Facilities Council]]