NOTSA, Nordic Optical Telescope Scientific Association

The Nordic Optical Telescope Scientific Association (NOTSA) is a Nordic scientific association with a 2.5m optical telescope NOT on the Canarian Island of La Palma. The telescope was taken into use in 1990. Its operation is directed by an agreement renewed in 1997.

All Nordic countries are associates of NOTSA with the following shares: Finland and Sweden 29.7% each, Denmark and Norway 19.8% each and Iceland 1%. The annual budget of the association is about 1.4 million euros.

The highest decision-making body is the NOT Council. Finland is represented on the Council by Adjunct Professor Leo Takalo (University of Tampere, Tuorla Observatory) and Science Adviser Anna Kalliomäki from the Academy of Finland. The Council is chaired by Professor Gunnlaugur Björnsson from the University of Iceland.

The location of NOT and the exactness of its optical system make the telescope one of the best telescopes in the world in its size class. The Observing Programmes Committee (OPC) allocates observation times on the basis of scientific plans and merits. Finland is represented on the OPC by PhD Kari Nilsson from the University of Turku. In recent years, NOT has been a popular training place of young astronomers in particular.

Professor Johannes Andersen from the University of Copenhagen has been the director of NOTSA since 2002.