Document Actions

School of Galactic Radio Astronomy (Smiley)

The School of Galactic Radio Astronomy (SGRA) was developed to offer students in grades 8-12 a unique, live, hands-on, inquiry based approach to learning through Internet control of a 4.6 meter (15 feet) radio telescope (nicknamed Smiley).

Control Room

Schedule a SGRA workshop at your school!

The School of Galactic Radio Astronomy (SGRA) was developed with support from the STScI IDEAS program to offer students in grades 8-12 a unique, live, hands-on, inquiry based approach to learning through Internet control of a 4.6 meter (15 feet) radio telescope (nicknamed Smiley) located at Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI). The radio telescope is designed to detect 21-cm radio waves emitted by the center of our galaxy and its spiral arms, supernova remnants, regions of star formation and other celestial sources. Students and teachers make the decisions: from source selection, to pointing the telescope, to taking the measurements.



		Smiley and one of PARI's 26-m (85-foot) radio telescopes

SGRA has been incorporated into dozens of school systems in the southeastern U.S. serving approximately 3,500 students. Teachers attend workshops on the PARI campus and off-campus locations where they learn to use the radio telescope and accompanying labs. Teachers use the telescope and labs in classes where students can access, control, and watch Smiley through the Internet, providing them with real time and real life experiences.

PARI is committed to making the radio telescope available to schools over the Internet and providing up to 20% of their astronomers time to the project. PARI's SGRA is partially supported by Progress Energy, an American Institute of Physics Meggers Project Award, the Space Telescope Science Institute IDEAS program, the American Astronomical Society, and the National Science Foundation. Additional funding has been provided by the Perry N. Rudnick Fund.

Educational Goals & Objectives

Our goal is to enhance the technological and scientific literacy of students through this exciting experience.

As part of a web based, on-line, interactive radio astronomy program for students in grades 8-12, SGRA incorporates real-time, hands-on use of a radio telescope with lesson modules.
Smiley, PARI's 4.6 meter radio telescope is in use in schools (both local and nation wide) as an inquiry based, real-time, hands-on astronomy tool and enhancement to the NC and National Science Teaching Standards.
SGRA is designed to adhere to local and National Education Standards in science, math, and technology. SGRA satisfies teacher continuing education standards and offers Continuing Education Units for workshop attendance. Teachers and their classes are then given use of the telescope for one year.

The Smiley control software requires JAVA version 1.5 or greater. If you need to update, download directly from the Sun JAVA webpage, selecting "Windows (Manual Installation)" and follow their directions.

PARI WebSite

Sections

Personal tools

Document Actions

School of Galactic Radio Astronomy (Smiley)