Comet 46P at primary school

A group of primary school students observing Comet 46P/Wirtanen at St Mary's RC Primary School in Bridgend, UK.

The students are observing the comet and analysing the data as part of an effort coordinated by Helen Usher, a PhD student at the Open University and Cardiff University, working with the Faulkes Telescope Project in the UK.

The Faulkes Telescope Project makes use of a worldwide network of robotic telescopes, built and operated by Las Cumbres Observatory, including two 2-m telescopes in Hawaii and Australia, which can be used to observe in the night-time when students are at school during the day in Europe. In particular, the Faulkes Telescope North in Hawaii is equipped with a series of filters that were provided by ESA to study Comet 67P from the ground during the Rosetta mission, and are now being used to observe 46P.

Full story: December comet brings back Rosetta memories