1. ASTRONOMY OVER THE INTERNET
BSS 2011 Vidojevica Dr Milan Bogosavljević,
20. August 2011 Astronomical Observatory,
Belgrade, Serbia

2. Overview
 Observational astronomy – where are we
now?
 Robotic observatories
 What can observatories do for EDUCATION?
 Astronomical Station Vidojevica – present
and future
 Project MONECOM

3. Forefront of Science today – very big, very
expensive… but accessible?
Thirty meter telescope
CERN

4. What is a robotic observatory?

5. LCOGT – Las Cumbres Observatory
Global Telescope

6.  Click to edit Master text styles IN THE WORLD
THE CURRENT TREND
 Second level
 Third level
8 Jun 2010
 Fourth level
 Fifth level

7. More “BIG” Examples…
 Mt. Palomar,
California
 Telescope: 1.5m
 MONET: 2 telescopes
McDonald Observatory, Texas
and SAAO South Africa
 Telescopes: 1.2m.

8. LESSON: AN OBSERVATORY AS A MULTI PURPOSE LABORATORY
Geology Nuclear and
(planets) particle
Aerospace
physics
Biology (life
on other
planets) Electronic
ASTRONOMY and optics
Chemistry
(interstellar
matter)
Mechanics
Informatics,
databases,
numerics

9. IAU – strategy for developing
countries: get researchers into
classrooms
Еncourage developed astronomy
1.
institutes to provide long-term
guidance and advice to
university departments in
developing countries interested
in building up an astronomy
research capability.
Include aspects of astronomy as
2.
aids to the primary and
secondary education of as
many children as possible.

10. Why (keep on)
building observatories?
“Astronomy serves the Nation”

11. MONET 1.2m TELESCOPE: A CHANCE FOR
HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENT EDUCATION

12. THIS FALL: A GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM SERBIA, CROATIA AND
GREECE WILL JOINTLY WORK ON SCIENCE!

13. Astronomical Observatory, Belgrade
The only professional astronomy institute in
former Yugoslavia
Staff: around 30 full-time researchers, 7 new grad
students this year
Downside: built in 1930's in Belgrade, now pop. 2.5
million
The “Big Refractor” Observations ceased to a halt in the '90s
65cm, 10 meters focal length

14. Observational Astronomy in Serbia:
“Our potentials, potentially ours”
Astrophysics degree offered at two
Universities in Serbia (Belgrade and Novi
Sad), 4-10 graduates per year
Astrophysics students from Belgrade
moved to the West: Cornell, Caltech,
UMass, Penn State, Toronto, Leiden,
Max-Planck...
2010 Project “Belissima” :
Post-docs: Hubble fellow, Einstein European Comission FP7
fellow... program to revive the
Observatory, build new facilities
and return experienced
researchers

15. Phase 1 at Astronomical Station Vidojevica

16. The first step: commissioning of the “small”
60cm telescope

17. OUR FIRST TESTS…

18. NEAR FUTURE (2011-2013) –
ROBOTIC TELESCOPE 1.5m

19. How to get students interested?

20. A change in values… should/can we do
something about it?

21. Education in the era of Web 2.0 and
Facebook/Twitter
If it’s in a book its already old”
to make lectures about science relevan
he world of the kids of today?

22. The facts !?
 “Our children are living in the most intensely
stimulating period in the history of the Earth”
 Saturation with instantaneous stimuli – 160/140
characters?
 Kids are online all the time, and are used to
“superficial multitasking”
 Focusing on details is considered a waste of time
 Virtual reality is not so virtual anymore
 Kids are “faster” than you… and we actually DO NOT
KNOW which world they will be living in!

23. A suggestion for a solution
 “Feed” the children information in a modern tempo
 Involve them, or they will involve themselves
elsewhere

24. WHAT IS NEEDED FOR ROBOTIC OBSERVATIONS...

25. AUTOMATED METEOROLOGICAL STATION AND
ALL-SKY CAMERA

26. “LUCK COMES TO THE PREPAIRED”

27. MORE FROM VIDOJEVICA... (elev. 1155m)