ANKARA UNIVERSITY KREIKEN OBSERVATORY

In 1954, the Dutch astrophysicist Egbert Adriaan Kreiken (1896-1964) was commissioned to build an observatory at the Faculty of Science of Ankara University, as part of the development of astronomical observations in the region. The faculty buildings being located in the city centre, he looked for a better quality site; a site that was found in the Ahlatlıbel region, 18 km south of Ankara, therefore far enough from light pollution while remaining easy to access, and having particularly favourable weather statistics with an average of 300 nights cleared per year! Once the land had been purchased, plans for the future project were planned the following year, and construction of the observatory could begin in 1959. At the end of the work, the first instruments were implanted: radio telescope, photographic telescope, sunglasses, etc. The observatory officially opened its doors in 1963 at an international conference on astronomy. In the following years, several scientific research axes were developed, studies of stars, small bodies of the solar system (asteroids and comets), observations and monitoring of sunspots, etc. In 1986 and 1989, collaborations were established with the Zurich Observatory, while new, more modern instruments were installed.

Today the instruments used on this site are not the most spectacular, but this relative weakness is largely compensated by the services offered during evenings - nights should we rather say! - of observation. The site itself is quite well preserved from city lights, so that pointed celestial objects, especially the weakest ones (nebulae and galaxies), often appear spectacular to the telescopes' eyepieces. This place is a very good choice to spend a few hours with astronomy enthusiasts in very good conditions.