SBIR Phase I: Sky Explorer: A Low-Cost Telescope/CCD Camera System, Incorporating Interactive Software, to Enrich High School Science and Technology Learning in Astronomy

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将由波士顿工程服务公司实施，利用小型计算机辅助望远镜和电荷耦合二极管（CCD）相机的成本下降和性能提高的优势，实现一种新的、更低成本的设计，为学生学习优化，并为所有学校负担得起。这样一个由望远镜和相机组成的系统，结合用户友好的交互式软件，充当“智能导师”，展示如何使用设备和做项目，可以让高中生进行真正的科学发现项目，以前只有受过科学训练的成年人才能尝试。这些项目包括约翰逊-摩根标准（UBVRI）对变星的光度测定以及小行星的发现和跟踪。研究目标是得出一个合适的望远镜/相机设计和一个有效的软件用户界面，以满足成本目标和学生的需求。这项研究由一名软件开发人员和仪器设计人员与一群高中生在一系列天文学项目中使用这种望远镜/相机系统的原型进行了广泛的实验。这个项目为学生提供了参与科学发现和了解最新技术的机会。潜在的商业应用是一种有市场的教育工具，适用于中学和小学、大学、业余天文学和公共教育受众。＊＊＊

*** 9660693 Tucker This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project to be carried out by Boston Engineering Service takes advantage of falling costs and increasing performance of small computer-assisted telescopes and charged coupled diode (CCD) cameras to achieve a new, lower cost design that is optimized for student learning and affordable for all schools. Such a system of telescope and camera, combined with user friendly, interactive software that acts as an "intelligent tutor" in showing how to use the equipment and do projects, can allow high school students to perform projects of genuine scientific discovery, previously only attempted by adults with scientific training. Such projects include Johnson-Morgan standard (UBVRI) photometry of variable stars and the discovery and tracking of asteroids. The research objective is to arrive at a suitable telescope/camera design and an effective software user interface to meet cost objectives and student needs. The research consists of extensive experimentation by a software developer and instrument designer with a group of high school students using a prototype of such a telescope/camera system on a set of astronomy projects. This project offers students the opportunity to participate in scientific discovery and to become knowledgeable about the latest technology. Potential commercial applications are a marketable educational instrument for secondary, middle and elementary schools, for universities, and the amateur astronomy and public education audiences. ***