TNO

Thai National Observatory

With its modern facilities and excellent sky visibility, this observatory attracts numerous astronomers and researchers from around the world, who come to collect data and conduct astronomical research for no fewer than 200 nights per year. Although the National observatory's primary objective is astronomical research, NARIT also offers the general public the opportunity to visit during the annual National Observatory Open House events.

Location

TOT Relay Station (Km 44.4),

Doi Inthanon National Park,

Chom Thong District, Chiang Mai Province

Altitude

2,457 meters above sea level

Area

789 square meters

Operational

January 22, 2013

National Telescope with a 2.4-meter Diameter

The Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope has a 2.4-meter diameter mirror, making it the largest and most modern in Southeast Asia. The telescope comprises multiple mirrors made from borosilicate glass, which has a low expansion rate when the surrounding temperature changes. The mirror surface is coated with aluminum. The telescope's complex structure can accommodate up to 8 channels for attaching astronomical data collection instruments.

1-Meter Diameter Telescope

A telescope for astronomical research and academic services, capable of providing the best views of planets and celestial objects in Thailand.

Scientific Instruments

Focal Reducer

Field flattener or focal reducer enhances the capability for wide-field sky observation, providing a fully efficient view. When used with a 4K CCD camera, it can capture images with an unobstructed 15 arcminute field of view (previously limited to 7 arcminutes). With a 4K camera having an image scale of 0.42 arcseconds per pixel, it achieves a resolution of 1.2 arcseconds in the 400-800 nanometer wavelength range.

EXOhSPEC

EXOhSPEC, or Exoplanet High-Resolution Spectrograph, is an Echelle spectrograph designed for studying exoplanets using the radial velocity method. It can be used with both small and large telescopes and has a spectral resolution greater than 70,000, with a distance between spectral lines in each order exceeding 30 pixels. The spectrograph uses dual-headed fiber optics to increase observational accuracy. It is designed and developed by NARIT's Optics and Photonics Technology Development Center.

ULTRASPEC

A high-speed imaging device capable of capturing images at millisecond-level speeds, recording approximately 200 frames per second. Due to its high sensitivity, it can capture low-light celestial objects and quickly occurring astronomical events such as stellar scintillation, stellar occultations by planets, and lunar occultations of stars. It was created and developed by the University of Sheffield and the University of Warwick.

ARC 4K

A high-resolution 4K imaging device with 16 million pixels. It is equipped with a large chip and filters for various light wavelength ranges, making it suitable for astronomical research and capturing high-resolution images of celestial objects.

Telescope Control Room

The workplace for astronomers and astronomical technicians, where they command and control the operation of the 2.4-meter and 1-meter telescopes, as well as the telescope domes. This is done through the telescope control system developed by engineers from NARIT's Observatory Operations and Engineering Center.