Faulkes Telescope South
Faulkes Telescope South inside its closed housing | |
| Named after | Dill Faulkes |
|---|---|
| Part of | Las Cumbres Observatory |
| Location(s) | Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, AUS |
| Coordinates | 31°16′22″S 149°04′15″E / 31.27283°S 149.07083°E |
| Altitude | 1,165 m (3,822 ft) |
| First light | 2006 |
| Telescope style | Ritchey–Chrétien telescope |
| Diameter | 2 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Website | lco |
| Related media on Commons | |
The Faulkes Telescope South is a clone of the Liverpool Telescope and is located at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia. It is a 2 m (79 in) Ritchey-Chrétien telescope. It was designed to be operated remotely with the aim of encouraging an interest in science by young people. It is supported by an altazimuth mount.
The telescope is owned and operated by LCOGT. This telescope and its sister telescope Faulkes Telescope North are used by research and education groups across the globe. The Faulkes Telescope Project is one such group which provides observing time (awarded by LCOGT) for educational projects for UK schools. Funds were initially sourced by charitable donations from philanthropist Dr. Martin C. Faulkes.
Faulkes Telescope South saw first light in 2004 with full operations occurring by 2006.