Schoolroom scientists scanning outer space for dangerous objects

The sky's the limit for students from the Simon Langton Grammar School for boys who will be proving that age is no obstacle for science as they join top scientists to exhibit their work at the Royal Society's Summer Science exhibition.

Press and the public are invited to join the students at their exhibit, and help them monitor for dangerous objects in space that could collide with the Earth. This will involve the rare opportunity to take deep space pictures during a live observation link to a telescope so advanced visitors can view distant galaxies 37 million light years away.

Near Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids or comets than are orbiting in our solar system and it is likely at some time that one of the millions of rocks that orbit in our solar system will collide with the Earth. Observations of these asteroids taken by the students contribute towards a world wide effort to create a complete database of NEOs so that we might predict if and when asteroids will come into contact with our planet.

When they spot potential hazards, the students image the object and send the information to the Minor Planet Centre (MPC) where the asteroids are catalogued and their orbits defined.

Head of Physics at the school, and Director of the Langton Star Centre Becky Parker said: 'Our students are pushing back the frontiers of research. The work of the Langton Research Group allows school students to take part in authentic scientific research where they work alongside research scientists and engineers. This dramatically increases uptake in the sciences and we hope it will inspire the next generation of physicists and engineers.'

The project has been developed as part of the Royal Society's Partnership Grants scheme which aims to inspire students with science by putting real scientists into the classroom.

Visitors to the exhibit will also get the chance to use cutting edge technology (LUCID detectors) from CERN to detect cosmic rays, right where they stand in the Royal Society. In 2011 the school group will be the first to take CERN's technology into space, beating NASA in the race to do so. Students will then be able to take data on cosmic rays and compare data on Earth with that in Space.

A student on the project says: 'We are so excited to be the first to put CERN technology into space. Working with the Medipix collaboration at CERN is fantastic and brings physics alive. Next year I'm hoping to help students in other schools analyse cosmic ray data from LUCID detectors and then go on to do physics at University.'

The students' projects also cover the biological sciences, where they are working to create designer drugs and are contributing to the understanding of the development and treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.