The NSO website

After many months of development, we are very happy to welcome you to the new NSO website. In addition to providing a fresh look and feel, we have attempted to incorporate a number of software improvements that have become available since the development of the old website.

At the top of the page, you now have the option to log-in for the duration. By entering your usual username and password, you can access a user-specific navigation menu, which provides a more personal NSO experience. For convenience, you will remain logged-in between browsing sessions, but please be careful to log-out if you are using a public computer.

Using the top-level 'User Navigation' menu, teachers can select the following options:

• the My Account option lets you manage registration details, passwords, check on quiz results etc.
• the My Account option also allows teachers to request and manage student accounts, and includes the ability to check their observations.
• the My Observations option lets teachers check on their own observations.
• the Student Zone option lets teachers view a special area that registered students can see.

In addition to the user management advances, we would also point you towards the following major changes:

Activities Section

The various NSO activities and workshops that were scaterred about the previous website have now been brought together in one activities section, where teachers can easily view and access content for a whole host of activities. Over time more resources will be added, but please take a moment now to see if any of the current activities may be suitable for your teaching.

New Video Tutorials

Using the latest web technology and broadband speeds, we have developed a few video tutorials (or screencasts) for the Go Observing system and the NSO's own LTImage software. Hopefully these will provide a much easier way of learning how to conduct and analyse observations from the Liverpool Telescope.

Revamped Astronomy Section

With the increase in the number of students taking GCSE Astronomy, we have revamped much of the Astronomy section, and now include more advanced subjects, such as Dark Matter, specific galaxy types, co-ordinate systems etc. In time we will add more advanced content, such as stellar classification, the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and even Gamma Ray Bursts.

Ask Andy

Have you, or your students, ever wanted to ask a question of a professional astronomer? Well now is your chance with the new Ask Andy feature of the website. We will take the most asked questions and record video answers that can be viewed over the internet.