TÃœBÄ°TAK National Observatory

The National Observatory of TUBITAK, Turkish TÜBİTAK Ulusal Gözlemevi, Eng. TUBITAK National Observatory, is an astronomical observatory of TUBITAK, a State Scientific Institution. It is located in 2450 meters altitude on the Mount Bakırlı about 50 kilometers southwest of Antalya, Turkey.

The observatory has a large reflecting telescope, the "Russian - Turkish telescope " RTT150 with an aperture of 150 cm, and two smaller 45 cm, ROTSEIIID, and 40 cm, T40.

History

In the 1960s, the idea of ​​a National Observatory of professors from the University of Istanbul was applied for the first time. In 1979, finally, a research institution called Uzay Bilimleri Arastirma Ünitesi was founded. In 1983 it was converted into a project that had been prescribed for the choice of location for the National Astronomical Observatory. The Mount Bakırlı was chosen among four locations. In 1991, the planning began to take shape. The leadership took over from 1992, the State Planning Office. The legal foundation took place in 1995. The first director was Prof. Dr. Zeki Aslan. The commissioning of the observatory was then carried out on 5 September 1997 with an opening ceremony attended by the Heads of State and Prime Minister.