OWL-Net observatory, Songino

On the steppe at Songino, Mongolia, an unmanned telescope has quietly tracked satellites across the sky since 2014.

About OWL-Net Observatory, Songino

The station is hosted at the Institute of Astrophysics and Geophysics (IAG) in Mongolia and forms one of five identical stations in the OWL-Net network operated by Korea's KASI. It was set up in May 2014 as a fully unmanned, automatic facility dedicated to tracking Korean satellites.

Telescopes & research

The station carries the network's standard 0.5-metre Ritchey-Chretien telescope, paired with an electrically cooled 4K CCD camera with 9-micron pixels and a field of view of about 1.1 degrees. Working together with its sister stations around the globe, it allows continuous satellite tracking regardless of the Earth's rotation.

Location & getting there

Songino lies in Mongolia, in Asia, on open steppe terrain that offers the kind of dark, dry skies suited to precise optical tracking work. Use the map on this page for directions.

Visiting OWL-Net Observatory, Songino

As an unmanned, automated tracking station, the site is not set up for general public visits; anyone with a specific interest should contact the Institute of Astrophysics and Geophysics in Mongolia directly.

See your named star from here

Mongolia's vast, dark steppe skies are a striking place to imagine looking for a star you have named through Star Register. Check its exact position in the star catalogue.