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Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems VII
ASP Conference Series, Vol. 145, 1998
R. Albrecht, R. N. Hook and H. A. Bushouse, e
Ö Copyright 1998 Astronomical Society of the Pacific. All rights reserved.
ds.
Astronomy On­Line ­ the World's Biggest Astronomy
Event on the World­Wide­Web
R. Albrecht 1 , R. West, C. Madsen
European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany
M. Naumann
Serco c/o European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany
Abstract.
This educational programme was organised in a collaboration be­
tween ESO, the European Association for Astronomy Education (EAAE)
and the European Union (EU) during the 4th European Week for Sci­
entific and Technological Culture. Astronomy On­Line brought together
about 5000 students from all over Europe and other continents. Learning
to use the vast resources of tomorrow's communication technology, they
also experienced the excitement of real­time scientific adventure and the
virtues of international collaboration.
1. Introduction and Background
While the main task of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is to provide
state­of­the­art observing facilities to the European astronomical community and
otherwise support European astronomy, there have also been e#orts to advance
the knowledge about astronomy among the general public, and, in particular,
among students.
ESO provides, on a regular basis, press releases to the European media.
There are arrangements at all ESO facilities for the general public to visit. The
``Open Door Day'' at the ESO European Headquarters (Garching, Germany)
regularly draws thousands of visitors. Various ``ESO Exhibitions'' are shown in
di#erent European countries and material is provided to science museums and
planetaria. This is a formidable task, given the necessity to not only cater to
di#erent levels of education, but also to audiences with di#erent languages and
cultural backgrounds.
2. Astronomy On­Line
The programme is a collaboration between the European Association for As­
tronomy Education (EAAE) and the European Southern Observatory. It is
1 A#liated to the Astrophysics Division, Space Science Department, European Space Agency
248

Astronomy On­Line 249
sponsored by the European Union (EU) via the European Commission (EC)
through its Directorates XII (Science and Technology) and XXII (Education)
and was initiated in conjunction with the 4th European Week for Scientific and
Technological Culture in November 1996. Chile was included in the arrange­
ments as host country for the ESO La Silla and Paranal Observatories.
During Astronomy On­Line, a large number of school students and their
teachers from all over Europe and other continents as well, together with profes­
sional and amateur astronomers and others interested in astronomy, participated
in a unique experience that made intensive use of the vast possibilities of the
World­Wide­Web (WWW). It is obvious that such a programme cannot be a
series of lectures with the goal of bringing the full audience to a well defined
level of knowledge. Indeed, the main challenge of the programme was to attract
interest on many di#erent levels, yet to allow students to evolve from the level of
aroused curiosity to the level of personal contact with professional astronomers.
Through the WWW, the participants `meet' in a `marketplace' where a
number of di#erent `shops' are available, each of which tempt them with a num­
ber of exciting and educational `events', carefully prepared to cater for di#erent
age groups, from 12 years upwards. The events cover a wide spectrum of activi­
ties, some of which have been timed to ensure the progression of this programme
through its three main phases. It is all there: from simple, introductory astron­
omy class projects to the most advanced on­line access to some of the world's
best telescopes, from discussions with peer groups to on­line encounters with
leading professionals.
Astronomy On­Line is not just about `trivial' data retrieval or about en­
hancing the seductive drive into virtual reality. For example, through the pos­
sibility of designing and conducting a real observing run on some of the major,
professional telescopes, it o#ered the opportunity for hands­on experience to
students even in the most remote areas. In addition, they were able to `meet'
some of the professional astronomers at the participating observatories on the
WWW and discuss subjects of mutual interest.
Apart from its astronomical and natural sciences component, a particularly
fascinating perspective of the project was that it significantly contributed to
an understanding of the usefulness and limitations of the communication tech­
nologies that will increasingly govern all our daily lives. Other side benefits, of
course, included stimulating schools to go on­line and prompting international
cooperation among young people. Another important aspect is that the pro­
gramme did lead to the natural involvement of business and industrial partners
in the local areas of the participating groups. Moreover, its unique character
and international implications was very inviting for extensive media coverage,
both in human and scientific/technological terms.
3. Steering Committees and Participants
A preparatory meeting of the Executive Council of the EAAE and EAAE Na­
tional Representatives in 17 countries was held at ESO and an International
Steering Committee (ISC) was established. The ISC was responsible for the
planning of the main activities in Astronomy; it met in September 1996 to
evaluate the progress and to define the further actions and goals. The EAAE

250 Albrecht, West, Naumann and Madsen
National Representatives set up National Steering Committees (NSC) to coordi­
nate the Programme in their respective countries. More countries, in particular
in Eastern Europe, joined in in the meantime.
The NSCs consist of educators, scientists, representatives of leading plane­
taria, Internet specialists and, in some places, also representatives from sponsors
(Internet providers, PC hardware suppliers etc.). Most NSCs established good
liaisons with their National Ministries (of Education).
The ISC prepared a detailed programme description together with basic
guidelines that served to co­ordinate the work of the NSCs. They in turn pro­
vided organisational and technical information (e.g., computer and communica­
tion link specifications) to the participating groups, sponsors and supporters of
the programme.
The first task of the NSCs was to issue a call for participation to interested
schools, astronomy clubs and other astronomy­interest groups in their respective
countries. This was done during the summer of 1996 and continued after the
beginning of the new school year.
The participating groups consisted of a teacher and his/her students or
of one or more astronomy enthusiasts. Groups of young astronomy­enthusiasts
without a teacher and amateur astronomers were also welcome and many joined.
Each participating group had to register o#cially via the Astronomy On­Line
WWW pages. A summary of technical requirements for access to the WWW was
available on the Web. In those cases where access was not yet available at the
school, this was sometimes arranged by `sponsors' in the local area (planetaria,
institutes, businesses or private benefactors).
The full information was made available on the two central computer nodes
of the Programme which were continuously updated as the elements were spec­
ified in increasing detail. The Astronomy On­Line WWW Homepages can still
be reached at http://www.eso.org/astronomyonline/
Most communication via the WWW took place in English. However, the
appropriate areas of the National Astronomy On­Line Homepages were often in
the local language and when communicating with other groups in their language
area, some groups did use their own language.
4. Implementation
The World Wide Web provides a mechanism which is both convenient and widely
accessible. While maximizing the visibility of the project it also acquainted the
target audience with modern computing concepts, which was not only beneficial
for the students, it has also been one of the foundations of astronomy as an
almost all­digital science.
The Astronomy On­Line Programme was based on the concept of a WWW
`marketplace' with `shops' that could be consulted by the participants. The
`shops' were `open' at specified times, some from the beginning of the program
on October 1, 1996, and others later. The `shops' displayed a variety of `goods'
(activities) at di#erent levels of complexity in order to attract participants of
di#erent age groups. The following shops were installed:
1. General information: Information about the Programme, and Help facil­
ities. List of participating groups. Links to related Web sites. 2. Collaborative

Astronomy On­Line 251
projects: Projects which required observations by many groups, all over the con­
tinent, thereby leading to `joint' results. 3. Astronomical observations: Prepa­
ration of a real observing programme, submitted and executed by telescopes at
participating, professional (and in some cases, amateur) observatories. 4. As­
tronomical software: Use of a variety of general astronomical software (orbits,
eclipse predictions, etc), which could also be taken over for future use at the
schools. 5. Use of astronomical data on the WWW: Retrieval of data (images,
text, archive data), available on the WWW at di#erent sites. This shop also
included educative `Treasure Hunts' on the Web. 6. Prepared exercises (Try
your skills): A variety of prepared, astronomical exercises of di#erent level. 7.
Talk to the professionals: Talk over the WWW to professional astronomers and
educators. 8. Group communication: Connect to other Participating Groups.
9. Newspaper: Publication on the WWW of the results of the various activities,
etc. Announcements about the Programme and its progress.
Astronomy On­Line was divided into three phases, lasting from early Oc­
tober to November 22, 1996, and reflecting the gradual development of the as­
sociated activities. During this period, a number of special projects took place,
for instance in connection with the Partial Solar Eclipse on October 12, and the
amount of information on the Astronomy On­Line Web pages grew continuously.
The NSCs established national computer nodes for the Astronomy On­Line
Programme. In many cases, this was done in collaboration with a national uni­
versity/observatory or with a (sponsoring) Internet provider. In several places,
it was done in conjunction with the already existing EAAE Nodes.
The National Astronomy On­Line Home Pages had two main features:
1. A national component, dedicated to the activities in that country, and
2. A mirror of the `ESO Astronomy On­Line Home Page' (which acted as
the central `European Homepage').
In addition to their function as carriers of information, these WWW nodes
plus the national home pages also acted as an on­line advertisement for the
Programme. ESO produced a colour poster which was distributed by the NSCs.
ESO also provided VHS tapes with a specially prepared feature video that was
used to promote the Astronomy On­Line Programme.
5. Conclusion and Outlook
The programme met all expectations by stimulating interest in astronomy and
related sciences. The participants experienced in a very direct way how science is
done and acquainted themselves with important aspects of the scientific working
methods.
On the educational side, many participants were introduced to the benefits
of the WWW for the first time and they became familiar with the incredible
opportunities of communication and information extraction which are available
through this new medium.
At the same time it was noted with great satisfaction that the Ministries
of Education in several European countries took this opportunity to begin the
implementation of systems for continuous Internet and Web access from the
schools.