Easy remote observations using web interfaces: controlling an Italian telescope from Japan, and more

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how web-based interfaces enable easy, cross-platform remote control of telescopes, exemplified by controlling an Italian telescope from Japan and supporting educational and professional astronomy activities.

Contribution

It introduces a web-based control software for telescopes that simplifies remote operation and can be adapted for various hardware and large instruments, enhancing accessibility and automation.

Findings

Successful remote control of a telescope from Japan by students

Implementation of web-based management for a 1m-class telescope

Potential for expanding to large instruments like LBT's SHARK-NIR

Abstract

Remote observations are often limited by user interfaces, which seem frozen to another computer era: low performances, outdated programming languages, command-line scripting, high version-dependent software. Instead, web-based tools are standard: using nothing more than a browser, astronomers can interact with a generic observatory in a native cross-platform, remote-born way. We used this approach while advancing in the remotization of the 1m-class OARPAF telescope, located in Northern Italy. The web-based control software provides easy and integrated management of its components. This solution can be exported not only to similar hardware/software facilities, but also to large instruments such as SHARK-NIR at LBT; not only for single operations, but also for procedure scripting. In this contribution we describe our best practices and present two recent, orthogonal use cases: an in-place professional use for exoplanetary transit follow-ups, and the first remote control of the telescope from a Japanese high school, allowing students to independently observe, in their daytime, globular clusters