project Eastern Anatolia Observatory – DOĞU ANADOLU GÖZLEMEVI (DAG)

4m telescope for the Eastern Anatolia Observatory(DAG) in Turkey

AMOS was awarded ithe design, manufacturing and installation of the 4m-class telescope for the Turkish Eastern Anatolia Observatory (Dogu Anadolu Gözlemevi, Eastern Anatolia Observatory).

This was a major project for Turkey and was fully funded by Turkish Ministry of Development and the Atatürk University of Astrophysics Research Telescope – ATASAM. Installed at an altitude of 3170m on the Erzurum Plateau, near the town of Erzurum, Eastern Anatolia, it is the largest optical  telescope of Turkey.

The telescope is designed as a multipurpose equipment with scientific objectives such as cosmology studies, galaxies studies, solar system minor bodies studies, understanding of stars formation, planets studies, etc.

The DAG telescope is a 4m telescope with a Ritchey Chrétien configuration working in the visible and near infrared wavelengths. It has a 56m focal length and is equipped with two Nasmyth focii that can be selected thanks to a steerable tertiary mirror. While one Nasmyth focus will provide seeing-limited image quality, the other one will be equipped with an adaptive optic system in order to reach diffraction limited performances. This requires specific design provisions and the implementation of state-of-the-art equipment such as the active optic system. The optic active system combines the control in position the secondary and tertiary mirror thanks to two hexapods and the correction of the shape of the primary mirror thanks to the 66 force actuators that support the mirror all along the operation.

Major sub-contractors involved in the project: EIE group for part of the telescope structure and SCHOTT for the 4 m diameter ZERODUR blank production.

More info: https://atasam.atauni.edu.tr