UND launches Internet-based telescope network A new Internet-based network of astronomical observatories was launched this week by the Department of Space Studies. The network presents a major advancement in sky-watching power for UND and other space grant researchers. The newly established Space Grant Internet Telescope Network (SGITN) was designed as a national network of telescopes that aims to enhance research capabilities for astronomers and other space scientists, says Paul Hardersen, a geologist and assistant professor of space studies in the UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. “Operations will begin with observatories in North and South Dakota,” says Hardersen, who coordinated the SGITN effort. Hardersen also is director of the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium. SGITN aims to encourage student and faculty research and education via an interconnected network of observatories that are accessible to all eligible participants, says Hardersen, who teaches observational astronomy among other courses. For more information, check out http://sgitn.space.edu/intro/index.php and Hardersen’s web site at http://www.space.edu/aerospace/staff/hardersen.php. NASA’s Space Grant web site is at http://calspace.ucsd.edu/spacegrant/. -- Space studies.