ABSTRACT
The majority o f hig h schoo l student s hav e littl e opportunity t o engag e in science in the way that most scientifc researc h is actually conducted . Most of thei r time is spent reading or listening to their teachers lecture. Even i n th e laboratory , the y engag e i n th e oft-repeate d searc h fo r th e single, correct answer. The possibility of learning science by conducting original researc h wit h state-of-the-ar t instrument s ha s bee n virtuall y nonexistent fo r student s a t introductor y levels . However , th e Interne t offers opportunitie s fo r student s to initiat e thei r ow n astronom y inves - tigations. Using many of th e same advances that have made it possibl e to build a new generatio n o f powerfu l researc h telescopes , small, high quality, low-maintenance telescopes have been developed that allow high school student s t o carry ou t a variety o f researc h activities . Moreover , students’ use of the MICROOBSERVATORY network of telescopes can reproduce activities of research scientists, from the writing of a proposal
to secur e tim e o n th e telescop e fo r observatio n t o collaboratin g wit h other users who have either taken images or want to help analyze them. Students work collaboratively, collecting data to reveal the secrets of some of nature s wonders , from th e Sun’s changing face , to the ever circlin g Galilean Jovian moons, to the brightening and dimming of distant stars.
