Egypt to build the largest astronomical telescope in the country

CAIRO – 18 February 2023: Egypt is planning to build the largest astronomical telescope in the country as an alternative to the Kattameya Observatory, announced the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Kottamia Observatory is the largest telescope in the Arab world, the Middle East and North Africa. It was established in 1964 and considered an extension to Helwan Observatory, which was established in 1903.

On January 10, 2023, Chairman of the National Research Institute for Astronomy and Geophysics Gad El Qady stated that Egypt is building a new observatory in South Sinai on the summit of one of the mountains, which was selected after carrying out surveying works.

The official underlined that the diameter of the observatory's telescope will be 6.5 meters, pointing out that the diameter of the current observatory's telescope located in Cairo's Qattameya is just 1.9 meters.

Qady added that the Egyptian observatory had to be moved multiple times within Cairo throughout history to escape pollution, and hence keep producing clear images. The country's first observatory was lying in Bolaq and was established in 1839. Later, it was moved to Abaseya in 1870, Helwan in 1903, and Qattameya Desert in 1954.