The Syrian Arab Republic has been involved in astronomy since 1997, when a French expert in space science visited the country and made a presentation on the Network of Oriental Robotic Telescopes (NORT, which was a selected project of the Sixth United Nations/European Space Agency Workshop on Basic Space Science (document A/AC.105/657 of 13 December 1996).
NORT aims to establish a robotic telescope network on high mountains peaks around the Tropic of Cancer, from Morocco in the west to the deserts of China in the east.
The aims of establishing this network are:
A. On the technical level:
B. On the educational level:
The General Organization of Remote Sensing (GORS) of the Syrian Arab Republic has carried out a pilot study using remote sensing techniques and has selected four sites in order to determine the best location for the astronomical observatory, within the NORT programme. That study was published in "Seminars of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications: Selected Papers from Activities held in 2000". This current stage requires vehicles equipped with a 16-inch telescope connected to a computer and a charge coupled device (CCD). This phase may last for two years.
Following this project, GORS decided to establish an office for astronomical studies. Its tasks are supervising, following up on GORS' efforts in the field of astronomy and the observations that it carries out, preparing an almanac, plans and periodical reports for the different astronomical phenomena, and exchanging astronomical data with local, Arab and foreign administrations and universities in order to: (a) promote astronomical education and space science; (b) support and improve the technology of astronomy and related sciences through an educational curriculum methodology directed at university and school students; (c) provide society with astronomical information i.e. connect the society to scientific bodies.
The astronomical studies office at GORS is divided into an observatory and planetarium department and a coordination and astronomical data exchange department.
One of the earliest works of GORS in astronomy was an initiative to establish a planetarium within the GORS campus, to accommodate approximately 120 observers. An architectural contest to choose the best planetarium design, for the Arab World, took place at GORS. The contest comprised 21 contestants from Egypt, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, United Arab Emirates and the Syrian Arab Republic. The supervising committee members were specialists from Syrian and Lebanese universities, in addition to the aforementioned French expert in space science. The building of the planetarium commenced at the end of 2005 and is intended to continue until 2007.
The national Syrian committee for developing astronomy and space science was simultaneously formed from different interested bodies.
Additional astronomical activities in Syria
Summer astronomical camps take place annually in the Syrian Arab Republic and are organized by The Revolution Youth Union in cooperation with GORS, Syrian universities and the Syrian Cosmological Society.
Astronomers from Syria and Arab countries participate in these camps. During these camps, specialized lectures are presented during the day, and astronomical observations take place at night. In addition to these activities, simplified presentations are made to students from schools participating in the mobile planetarium.
For the purpose of transferring astronomical knowledge and technology, GORS takes part in all regional and international astronomical symposia. GORS also provides lectures on astronomy, according to academic terms.
The most important of these was the announcement of a partial solar eclipse that was observed in the Syrian Arab Republic on 3 October 2005 between 10:38 and 13:27, winter local time. This was by informing the mass media and asking the Ministry of Education to provide a special class on Sunday, 2 October to explain this phenomenon and the harm that would be caused to the eye by looking directly at the sun with the naked eye during the eclipse.