Production of first Turkish telescope kicks off

Scientists from Erzurum's Ataturk University, in cooperation with FMV Isık University, have developed and designed the Eastern Anatolia Observatory (DAG) telescope project.

The DAG telescope project is designed indigenously by the two universities, making it the first Turkish-designed telescope. Once completed, it will be Europe's highest resolution astronomical observation device.

FMV Isik University said in a statement that the DAG telescope will be four metres in diametre and have the ability to make observations in the infrared region.

The DAG telescope will be located on the 3,170-metre-high Konakli-Karakaya observatory by 2019, which is within the scope of Ataturk University.

The university also stated that the blue print for the project had been launched for the telescope and the dome.

As a result of the local design by Ataturk University's Dr Cahit Yesilyaprak and FMV Isik University's Assistant Professor Onur Keskin, the telescope will have a resolution 7 times higher than the Hubble Space Telescope.

The project is supported by Turkey's Ministry of Development, and FMV Isik University is responsible for the production of the Adaptive Optical System.

The project is estimated at 150 million Turkish lira's (approximately $50 million).

Space will be viewable in the visual and infrared area, thanks to the telescope's dome, structure and optical devices.

The Vaud School of Business and Engineering, a university in Switzerland, will be assisting in production.