History

Türkiye National Observatories was established as Türkiye's first “Joint Research Infrastructure” under Law No. 6550 on “Supporting Research Infrastructures”; in partnership between the Atatürk University Astrophysics Research and Application Center (ATASAM) and TÜBİTAK, the union of their space science infrastructures — the Eastern Anatolia Observatory (DAG) and the TÜBİTAK National Observatory (TUG) — received its qualification on “25 April 2023” and was founded with the status of “Advanced Research Infrastructure”. As our country's largest investment in fundamental science and space science, Türkiye National Observatories is a structure that will form the space sciences ecosystem and bring a new dimension to space sciences by supporting studies in this field in our country with its strong infrastructures and up-to-date technologies.

As a joint research infrastructure headquartered in Erzurum with a support office in Antalya; particularly in space sciences, the Eastern Anatolia Observatory (DAG) in Erzurum and the TÜBİTAK National Observatory (TUG) in Antalya are our country's largest, strongest and most comprehensive investments in astronomical observations and space sciences. Furthermore, with the “Optomechatronics Research Laboratory” (OPAL) infrastructure planned to be established in Erzurum, it will soon operate with qualified and competitive work through R&D activities and products in optical technologies and focal plane instruments.

With its vision of “being a globally innovative, competitive and pioneering research infrastructure in space sciences and in optical science and technologies” and its mission “to guide national efforts and to have a voice at the international level in space sciences and in optical science and technologies”, Türkiye National Observatories aims at:

• Carrying out astronomical observation services in both the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) bands at national and international scale with its space science infrastructures (DAG, TUG), Space Situational Awareness (SSA) observations, and scientific research activities on space weather,
• Organizing science–society events within the scope of public awareness and education,
• Developing the large-scale optical systems our country needs through R&D activities in optical science and technologies, by means of the “Optomechatronics Research Laboratory” (OPAL) infrastructure planned to be established in the near future,

as its primary objectives.

The TUG infrastructure, established in 1997 on Bakırlı Tepe at an altitude of 2,550 m in Saklıkent, Antalya, is Türkiye's first national observatory; it continues to provide both photometric and spectroscopic observation services in the visible band with 3 active telescopes (the RTT150 Telescope with a 1.5 m mirror in Russia–Türkiye partnership, the TUG100 Telescope with a 1.0 m mirror, and the TUG060 Telescope with a 0.6 m mirror).

The DAG infrastructure, located at an altitude of 3,170 m on Konaklı – Karakaya Tepesi in Palandöken, Erzurum, whose installation was completed in 2024 and which will be inaugurated in 2025, is Türkiye's largest and first international observatory to observe in the infrared band; with 4 telescopes (the DAG400 Telescope with a 4.0 m mirror, the ATA050 Telescope with a 0.5 m mirror in partnership with Atatürk University, and 2 DAGTPS Telescopes with 0.3 m mirrors performing atmospheric turbulence profile observations), it will begin providing observation services in both the visible and infrared bands — primarily photometric and coronagraphic, and subsequently spectroscopic.