Astronomy Club Uses Virtual Access to Telescopes to Take Students into Space

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 01/21/20

Tomorrow the Tarantula Nebula, the Whirlpool Galaxy and Centaurus A will be on view. Next week, perhaps the Vesta asteroid will put on a show worth viewing as it changes position — at least to viewers on earth. Those are all potential sightings of interest for students working with the Slooh Education Slooh Astronomy Club.

A company originally funded by a seed grant from the National Science Foundation, Slooh provides a "turnkey space lab experience" for students, to help them gain experience in scientific reasoning while studying space via a network of telescopes available online.

The program includes STEAM curricula (for grades 4 through introductory college courses), robotic telescopes with photo capture functionality and access to a private virtual clubhouse for sharing observations.

Slooh's approach uses robotic telescopes around the world, including seven located at an observatory run by the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands; three based in Santiago, Chili; and another five expected to go online this year in the United Arab Emirates.

Students can reserve access to telescopes to set up "missions" for studying specific regions of the night sky using astronomical catalogs, coordinates and imaging filters. Once the mission is done, they automatically get access to FITS digital file images in their photo hubs. They also have access to learn activities that involve using the telescopes for specific purposes and then analyzing the resulting data. The application also provides gamification; as they complete "quests," they gain "gravity points" and move up the leaderboard.

The company also hosts "live" shows during special astronomical events, run by a team of astronomers.

Teachers can track student progress through the various activities via an administrative interface and integration with Google for Education.

Licensing for a group of 10 students is $500 per year; a 30-pack is $1,000. An "apprentice" license is available for an individual for $100; an "astronomer" license for a lone person is $300.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education Announces Updates to Experience, DreamBox Math

    K-12 learning solution provider Discovery Education has announced enhancements to its Discovery Education Experience and DreamBox Math products, designed to create a more personalized, engaging learning experience for students.

  • abstract pattern of cybersecurity, ai and cloud imagery

    Report Identifies Malicious Use of AI in Cloud-Based Cyber Threats

    A recent report from OpenAI identifies the misuse of artificial intelligence in cybercrime, social engineering, and influence operations, particularly those targeting or operating through cloud infrastructure. In "Disrupting Malicious Uses of AI: June 2025," the company outlines how threat actors are weaponizing large language models for malicious ends — and how OpenAI is pushing back.

  • digital dashboard featuring a shield icon, graphs, a world map, and network nodes

    IBM Launches Agentic AI Governance and Security Platform

    IBM has introduced a new software stack for enterprise IT teams tasked with managing the complex governance and security challenges posed by autonomous AI systems.

  • laptop and fish hook

    Security Researchers Identify Generative AI 'Vishing' Attack

    A new report from researchers at Ontinue's Cyber Defense Center has identified a complex, multi-stage cyber attack that leveraged social engineering, remote access tools, and signed binaries to infiltrate and persist within a target network.