KUPANG – Head of the National Space Aviation Institute (LAPAN) Thomas Djamaluddin said that until now the construction of the national observatory (OBS) on Mount Timau, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), is still ongoing.
However, for the dome material, Thomas admitted that it was not installed because it was still stuck in Kupang due to inadequate road conditions.
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“The NTT Provincial Government has repaired some of the roads. KemPUPR is currently completing the rest of the roads to the location. It is hoped that the road will be finished soon,” said Thomas in a short message to MNC Portal Indonesia, Wednesday (19/5).
After the road problem is resolved, the dome material will be immediately sent to the location for installation. Furthermore, the telescope will be sent from Japan and installed in the dome.
“Hopefully everything is on target,” he said.
Meanwhile, LAPAN’s Public Relations Coordinator, Jasyanto, said the main telescope facility building where the observatory is now almost ready, is around 90%.
Until now, his party is pursuing the construction of telescopes and other supporting facilities. LAPAN, said Jasyanto, would focus on building national observatory research facilities, such as telescopes.
“LAPAN is particularly related to telescope research facilities and others. But in the future, of course, there will also be construction for public facilities,” he said when contacted separately.
It is known, LAPAN is targeting the construction of the largest obsnas in Southeast Asia to be completed in 2021.
The Mount Timau area was chosen as the location for the observatory construction because it needed an area free of light and air pollution.
With the existence of a national observatory in Kupang, it is hoped that the area will become a sky tourist spot which will certainly improve the economy in the surrounding area.
The observatory will be equipped with a 380 cm telescope, which is relatively large for the Asia-Pacific region and is very useful for space research.
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The Observatory on Mount Timau is the first Dark Sky National Park in Indonesia, as well as the largest observatory in Southeast Asia. When completed, the observatory on Mount Timau will also display the largest telescope in Southeast Asia.
If now the Bosscha Observatory in Lembang, Bandung, has been “surrounded” by settlements, then this observatory is not. Due to its location in the middle of a protected forest, there are no other buildings near the observatory that can cause light pollution and air pollution.
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