A major goal of the Global Sky Partner program is to provide opportunities to use professional quality instrumentation for genuine scientific investigations, to people who would not otherwise have that opportunity. We are very pleased that in 2019 the total direct audience size, of all partner programs was 11,000 (mainly school age students and teachers), with 21% coming from disadvantaged backgrounds or under-represented communities. This audience used the Las Cumbres Observatory global network of robotic telescopes for educational projects, supported by 21 partners in 23 countries

As a direct result of being involved in the Global Sky Partners, 31% of the total audience were involved in science investigations. We have seen over 28 peer-reviewed publications and 4 talks at professional, astronomical conferences by high-school students in 2019 alone. This is an unprecedented level of achievement. 

Additionally we had inspirational projects for absolute beginners which lead them through the process of making their first astronomical observation, and citizen science programs to investigate unexplained phenomena.

Many of these programs were successful in being selected for our 2020 Global Sky Partners program which provides excellent continuity for these audiences.

For the full scale of the 2019 Global Sky Partners, have a look at our annual report.