Auxiliary free space optical communication project to ensure continuous transfer of data for DAG the 4m telescope

The continuity of the amount of data that the 4m DAG (Eastern Anatolia Observatory in Turkish) telescope will produce and transfer to Ataturk University is critical not to jeopardize the science programs. Though the fiber optics and radio link infrastructures are in place, these systems are still volatile against earthquakes, and possible excavation damages. Thus the 4m DAG telescope will be equipped with a free space optical communication system to ensure the continuity of the data transfer as a backup system. In order to cope with the disturbances introduced by the atmospheric turbulence, the transceiver FSO system will be equipped with a wavefront corrector. In this paper, the Cassegrain optical design, and working principle of this system as well as expected performance analyses will be presented.Publisher's Versio

Magnetic activity and evolution of Algol-type stars - II

We examine the possibility of probing dynamo action in mass-losing stars, components of Algol-type binaries, Our analysis is based on the calculation of nonconservative evolution of these systems, We model the systems U Sge and beta Per where the more massive companion fills its Roche lobe at the main sequence (case AB) and where it has a small helium core (early case B) respectively, We show that to maintain evolution of these systems at the late stages which are presumably driven by stellar 'magnetic braking', an efficient mechanism for producing large-scale surface magnetic fields in the donor star is needed. We discuss the relevance of dynamo operation in the donor star to the accelerated mass transfer during the late stages of evolution of Algol-type binaries. We suggest that the observed X-ray activity in Algol-type systems may be a good indicator of their evolutionary status and internal structure of the mass-losing stellar components

DAG: A new observatory and a prospective observing site for other potential telescopes

DAG (Eastern Anatolia Observatory is read as "Dogu Anadolu Gözlemevi" in Turkish) is the newest and largest observatory of Turkey, constructed at an altitude of 3150 m in Konakll/Erzurum provenience, with an optical and nearinfrared telescope (4 m in diameter) and its robust observing site infrastructure. This national project consists of three main phases: DAG (Telescope, Enclosure, Buildings and Infrastructures), FPI (Focal Plane Instruments and Adaptive Optics) and MCP (Mirror Coating Plant). All these three phases are supported by the Ministry of Development of Turkey and funding is awarded to Atatürk University. Telescope, enclosure and building tenders were completed in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. The final design of telescope, enclosure and building and almost all main infrastructure components of DAG site have been completed; mainly: road work, geological and atmospheric surveys, electric and fiber cabling, water line, generator system, cable car to summit. This poster explains recent developments of DAG project and talks about the future possible collaborations for various telescopes which can be constructed at the site.Publisher's Versio

Project management of DAG: Eastern Anatolia Observatory

The four meter DAG (Eastern Anatolia Observatory in Turkish) telescope is not only the largest telescope in Turkey but also the most promising telescope in the northern hemisphere with a large potential to offer scientific observations with its cutting edge technology. DAG is designed to be an AO telescope which will allow both infrared and visible observations with its two Nasmyth platforms dedicated to next generation focal plane instruments. In this paper, status updates from DAG telescope will be presented in terms of; (i) in house optical design of DAG, (ii) tender process of telescope, (iii) tender process of enclosure, and (iv) tender process of the observatory building. Also status updates from the focal plane instruments project and possible collaboration activities will be presented.Publisher's Versio

Observatory building design: A case study of DAG with infrastructure and facilities

Eastern Anatolian Observatory (DAG), will be built in one of the well-known mountain ridges of Erzurum, Turkey, at latitude of 39°46'50, longitude of 41°13'35 and an altitude of 3.151 meters. As well as erecting the largest telescope of Turkey, the DAG project aims to establish an observatory complex both small in size and functional enough to give service to all astronomy community. In this paper, the challenge is explained in details: geological and geographical limitations, environmental and meteorological constraints, engineering and structural considerations, energy efficiency and sustainability.Publisher's Versio

Discovery of an OB Runaway Star Inside SNR S147

We present first results of a long term study: Searching for OB--type runaway stars inside supernova remnants (SNRs). We identified spectral types and measured radial velocities (RV) by optical spectroscopic observations and we found an early type runaway star inside SNR S147. HD 37424 is a B0.5V type star with a peculiar velocity of 74$\pm$8 km s$^{-1}$. Tracing back the past trajectories via Monte Carlo simulations, we found that HD 37424 was located at the same position as the central compact object, PSR J0538+2817, $30\!\pm\!4$ kyr ago. This position is only $\sim$4 arcmin away from the geometrical center of the SNR. So, we suggest that HD 37424 was the pre--supernova binary companion to the progenitor of the pulsar and the SNR. We found a distance of 1333$^{+103}_{-112}$ pc to the SNR. The zero age main sequence progenitor mass should be greater than 13 $M_\odot$. The age is $30\pm4$ kyr and the total visual absorption towards the center is 1.28$\pm$0.06 mag. For different progenitor masses, we calculated the pre--supernova binary parameters. The Roche Lobe radii suggest that it was an interacting binary in the late stages of the progenitor.Comment: Accepted to be published in MNRAS, 10 pages, 5 figure

Turkey's next big science project: DAG the 4 meter telescope

The DAG (Turkish for Eastern Anatolia Observatory) 4-m telescope project has been formally launched in 2012, being fully funded by the Government of Turkey. This new observatory is to be located on a 3170 m altitude ridge near the town of Erzurum in Eastern Anatolia. First light is scheduled for late 2017. The DAG team's baseline design of the telescope consists of a Ritchey-Chretien type with alt-az mount, a focal length of 56 m and a field of view up to 30 arcmin. Multiple instruments will be located at the Nasmyth foci. The optical specifications of the telescope are set by DAG team for diffraction limited performance with active and adaptive optics. Modern mirror control technologies will allow defining in a most cost effective way the figuring requirements of the optical surfaces: the low order figuring errors of the combined optical train constituted of M1-M2-M3 are defined in terms of Zernike coefficients and referred to the M1 surface area. The high order figuring errors are defined using the phase structure functions. Daytime chilling of the closed enclosure volume and natural ventilation through suitable openings during observations will be used to ensure optimal mirror and dome seeing. A design of a ground layer adaptive optics (GLAO) subsystem is developed concurrently with the telescope. In this paper, main design aspects, the optical design and expected performance analysis of the telescope will be presented.Publisher's Versio

The temporal analysis of light pollution in Turkey using VIIRS data

© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.Artificial Light pollution (AL) in Turkey and in Turkish observatories between 2012–2020 have been studied using the archival data of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument. The astroGIS database has been used in processing the data (astrogis.org) Aksaker et al. (2020a). The total energy released to space from Turkey increased by 80% in 2019 with respect to 2012. In the span of the dataset, a steady and continuous increase has been observed throughout all cities of the country. On the other hand, Dark Sky Park locations, East and Southeast Anatolian regions and mostly rural areas around the cities kept their AL level constant. Four demographic parameters have been studied and they were found to be correlated very well with AL: Population (R≃ 0.90); GDP (R≃ 0.87); Total Power Consumption (R≃ 0.66) and Outdoor Lightening (R≃ 0.67). Contrary to countries acting to prevent AL increases, Turkey seems to be at the beginning of an era where AL will arithmetically increase throughout the country and enormous amount of energy will continuously escape to space and therefore will be wasted. Therefore, a preventive legislation, especially for invaluable astronomical site locations such as TURAG, TUG, DAG and ÇAAM where each is counted as a truly dark site due to their SQM values, has to be enacted in Turkey, in very near future

Agile development approach for the observatory control software of the DAG 4m telescope

Observatory Control Software for the upcoming 4m infrared telescope of DAG (Eastern Anatolian Observatory in Turkish) is in the beginning of its lifecycle. After the process of elicitation-validation of the initial requirements, we have been focused on preparation of a rapid conceptual design not only to see the big picture of the system but also to clarify the further development methodology. The existing preliminary designs for both software (including TCS and active optics control system) and hardware shall be presented here in brief to exploit the challenges the DAG software team has been facing with. The potential benefits of an agile approach for the development will be discussed depending on the published experience of the community and on the resources available to us

The design of an adaptive optics telescope: the case of DAG

In this paper, we describe in detail the optical design of DAG, a new 4 m telescope for Turkey. DAG is an "adaptive optics friendly" telescope, in a sense that each design decision is taken considering the potential impact on the AO performance (vibrations, static aberrations etc.) The objective is to make this telescope fully ready for AO at first light. It is designed as a Ritchey-Chretien combination, 56 m focal length, with Nasmyth foci only, and active optics. Its total RMS error is expected to be 45 nm up to Zernike mode 78, and 26 nm for the higher, non AO corrected modes. A final design optimization has been done by the telescope manufacturers, demonstrating that our AO-based requirements can be satisfied, without much difficulty.Publisher's Versio