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Type of site | Service provider |
|---|---|
| Owner | Michael Paolucci (Founder) |
| URL | slooh.com |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Yes |
| Launched | December 25, 2003[1] |
| Current status | Active |
Slooh is arobotic telescope service that can be viewed live through aweb browser. It was not the first robotic telescope, but it was the first that offered "live" viewing through a telescope via theweb.[2] Other online telescopes traditionally email a picture to the recipient. The site has a patent on their live image processing method.[3] Slooh is an online astronomy platform with live-views and telescope rental for a fee.[4] Observations come from a global network of telescopes located in places includingSpain andChile and Siding Spring Australia.[4]
The name Slooh comes from the word "slew" to indicate the movement of atelescope, modified with "ooh" to express pleasure and surprise.
Slooh,LLC is based inWashington, Connecticut.[5]
The service was founded in 2002 by Michael Paolucci.[1] ItsCanary Islands telescope went online December 25, 2003,[1] but was not available to the public until 2004.
The originalastronomicalobservatory is located on the islandTenerife in the Canary Islands on thevolcano calledTeide. The site is at the 2,300-metre (7,500 ft)elevation[6] and situated away from citylight pollution. This (Canary Islands) site includes 2domes, each with 2 telescopes. Each dome has a high-magnification telescope and awide-field telescope. One dome is optimized forplanetary views (e.g., more magnification and a differentCCD), and the other is optimized fordeep sky objects (e.g., less magnification, more light sensitive CCD). Each dome offers 2telescopic views: one high magnification (narrow field) view through a 14-inch (360 mm)CelestronSchmidt-Cassegrain telescope; and a wide view through either atelephoto lens or anAPOrefractor. In 2012, the Slooh.com Canary Islands Observatory was assignedobservatory code G40.[7]
On February 14, 2009, Slooh launched a second observatory in the hills aboveLa Dehesa,Chile. This site offers views from theSouthern Hemisphere. In 2014, the Slooh.com Chile Observatory was assignedobservatory code W88.[8]
UnlikeGoogle Sky which features images from theHubble Space Telescope, Slooh can take new images of the sky with its telescopes.[4]
