PBO: Alumni Grant

Remote telescope imaging in Spain for undergraduate astrophysics research at Bath.

Undergraduate astrophysics projects are often limited not by student ambition or ability, but by access to reliable, high-quality observational data. At the University of Bath, the Bath Physics Observatory (BPO) has developed rapidly since 2018 and now hosts two fully computer-controlled telescope systems. In 2025, the Observatory supported its 100th student user. Recent undergraduate projects, combining archival datasets with new observations taken at Bath, have demonstrated that students are capable of genuinely research-led work when provided with appropriate data and support.
However, the number of clear imaging nights in Bath is typically limited to four or five per semester. While this allows for short projects and demonstrations of observational techniques, it restricts sustained observing campaigns. Students are often unable to pursue more ambitious scientific questions that require repeated or iterative refinement of observing strategies.
This project will pilot the use of remote astronomical observing from Spain to overcome this limitation. By accessing a remotely operated telescope system that closely mirrors those used at Bath, but located at a dark-sky site with far more reliable weather, we expect to increase available observing nights to approximately 25 per semester. This step-change in data availability will allow us to develop a coherent pipeline of undergraduate projects that authentically blend teaching with research. By bringing the cosmos to campus in this way, the project aims to position Bath as a leader in accessible, research-led astrophysics education.
The project will fund 50 nights of dedicated observing time at the First Light Optics remote observatory in Granada, Spain, spread flexibly across the academic year. To manage the increase in data volume, the project also provides dedicated storage on the University’s X-drive for active use, alongside external storage to preserve data beyond the lifetime of the project.