Telescope Live Reviews 93

I started using the Telescope Live platform in September 2019 and after a year of intense use I can only praise its merits and thank the team behind it for the work done in this brilliant project.

Telescope Live has many high level telescopes located in some of the best observing areas of the planet both for the quality of the sky and the number of clear nights. For those like me who are involved in following astronomical phenomena that require a fast follow-up, having telescopes of different range in different points of the globe allows you to be always ready to observe even the most transient phenomena.

The interface that manages the system is very simple and flexible, both the novice and the more experienced amateur astronomers will find solutions suitable for their observing sessions. Not to mention that thanks to the online help, someone from the team will always be available to answer any doubts and questions.

The team that manages the platform is in fact another of its strengths, always very helpful and prepared (Marco and Chantal just to name a few) in responding to the needs of its customers. Finally, having used the platform for a whole year I was able to appreciate its constant updating over time, with the introduction of improvements and new features. This makes this platform always updated and in step with the times. Thanks Telescope Live!

I first heard of the Telescope Live remote imaging platform at the European Astrofest in London at the end of January 2020. Having spent a short time with two of the platform’s friendly representatives, Alex and Chantal, who explained about the locations and equipment offered by Telescope Live, I was keen to try out the special offer available at the Astrofest which allowed a short imaging run using free credits. As the images later became available it was immediately obvious that this was a high-end contender in the world of remote observing and I’ve been lucky enough to be able to use it regularly since then.
Astro-imaging from the UK is a frustrating pursuit due to the unreliable weather so many imagers are turning to remote imaging systems abroad. There are many advantages to this, primarily that the observatories are positioned in dark locations, free of light pollution, and are carefully chosen to offer a very high proportion of clear nights. Telescope Live have many telescopes located in prime observing sites in Chile, Australia and Spain. The latter site gives good access to both northern and southern hemisphere skies whilst Chile and Australia allow imaging of exotic targets not visible from the UK. A choice of telescopes is available which deliver wide-field imaging as well as more detailed, high resolution projects. The main observatory at Chile features four large telescopes of the utmost quality, the largest being a 1-meter instrument suitable for high level research imaging.
Of course, remote imaging comes at a cost but Telescope Live offer many different observing packages so you can choose which is best for your level of imaging. It’s worth bearing in mind that the premium quality instrumentation and observatory locations allow excellent images to be produced with surprisingly short imaging runs and the Telescope Live website has many Observing Request Templates available making quality imaging possible to complete beginners working with a limited budget.
Booking time on the telescopes is straightforward and the logical layout regarding choice of telescopes, filters etc. coupled with an automated scheduling procedure means that it’s simple to submit an imaging proposal and once done you can sit back and wait for your data to become available. All of the telescopes offer both broadband and narrowband imaging filters and the latter allow imaging even when the Moon is quite obtrusive and this, coupled with significant discounts offered during this time, means that it’s possible to get great images even when the Moon is the full phase. If any observing slots are compromised by bad weather or rare instrumentation issues then the credits used are refunded.
Since January I’ve used the telescopes at all locations for both deep imaging as well as taking very short exposure sets and the images have been very exciting.
To conclude, if like me you’re passionate about astronomical imaging or are a complete novice wishing to take your first astro-photograph, Telescope Live offers wonderful opportunities. There are many images available from satisfied users in the Gallery section of the website and also many introductory tutorials designed to help you get the best from your images.
Nik Szymanek FRAS

Telescope Live provides a fantastic service to anyone who is passionate about astronomy and wants to obtain their own astronomy pictures but don't have the means or (sigh!) the skies to do so. Furthermore, even if you run a professional observatory, their geographical distribution allows you to take astronomical pictures of both hemispheres or simply track objects when they're not visible in your own dark sky. The team is friendly and extremely capable and feedback from the user is acted upon very promptly.

I am using Telescope Live Telescope since Autumn 2019. It allowed me to have access to dark clear sites to perform both nice images and useful scientific data.
The on line platform is intuitive and easy to use and it is constantly improved. You can get a good support from the team also in technical issues with the use of the telescopes.