The Erciyes University Astronomy and Space Science Observatory Applied Research Center ( tr, Erciyes Üniversitesi Astronomi ve Uzay Bilimleri Gözlemevi Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi) (UZAYBİMER) is a

radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming f ...

observatory operated by the Astronomy and Space Sciences Department at

Erciyes University Erciyes University ( tr, Erciyes Üniversitesi) is a Turkish institute of higher education located in Kayseri, Turkey. As of 4 April 2019, a total of 64,194 students were studying for their bachelor's degree and postgraduate studies. Background ...

's Faculty of Science. It is located within university's campus at

Melikgazi Melikgazi, in Byzantine times known as Tzamandos, is a metropolitan district of Kayseri in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. History In 1065, the town was given among other lands in the region to the Armenian king Gagik II as exchange for ...

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...

in central

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Observatory's first

radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...

was a

parabolic antenna A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or pa ...

of diameter, which was donated by the Marmara Research Center (MAM) of

Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, TÜBİTAK) is a national agency of Turkey whose stated goal is to develop "science, technology and innovation" (STI) policies ...

(TÜBİTAK). The radio telescope, then called MRT-2, was initially purchased from the Institute of Radio Astronomy in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

with the financial help of

UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

in 1996. Built to operate in the

radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upp ...

range of 85-115

GHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

, it was intended for the acquisition of

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

data in the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...

. In 1997, the telescope became inoperable, and the Ukrainian technicians were unavailable for its reparature. After some unsuccessful attempts to fix the radio telescope at site, it was handed over in 2000 to Erciyes University, where its rehabilitation was carried out between 2001-2002. The next radio telescopes were two parabolic antennas of diameter (ERT-5), which were donated from the local branch office of

Türk Telekom Türk Telekom is a state-owned Turkish telecommunications company. Türk Telekom was separated from Turkish Post (PTT) in 1995. Türk Telekom Group provides integrated telecommunication services for PSTN, GSM, and wide-band Internet. The Türk ...

in 2000. They are part of a project to build an

astronomical interferometer An astronomical interferometer or telescope array is a set of separate telescopes, mirror segments, or radio telescope antenna (radio), antennas that work together as a single telescope to provide higher resolution images of astronomical objects ...

. The radio telescopes operate in the frequencies of 4.5, 11 and 20 GHz. In addition, a diameter antenna is situated at the site as well. Further radio telescopes installed at the observatory are a antenna and a

radome A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and ...

, both donated by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

SATCOM. Currently, the observatory operates the single-dish Cassegrain focus radio telescope inside the radome, two optical

reflecting telescope A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is a telescope that uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century by Isaac Newton as an alternati ...

s of and diameter.

References

{{coord missing, Turkey Astronomical observatories in Turkey

Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

Radio telescopes Buildings and structures in Kayseri Province 2006 establishments in Turkey