The idea to create a site of astronomical research at Skinakas was conceived in the summer of 1984. Soon after the construction of a road to the mountain peak commenced. The
University of Crete, the
Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH, former Research Center of Crete) and the
Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (
Germany) agreed to build and operate together a telescope with the purpose of providing modern education in Astronomy to University students and also of supporting astronomical observations with emphasis on the research of extended sky objects such as
comets and
gaseous nebulae. The first Director of Skinakas Observatory was Prof. Ioannis Papamastorakis, who led the development of the Observatory until his retirement in 2009. The expected arrival of
comet Halley in the Spring of 1986, after 76 years of wandering through the
Solar System, set the time schedule for the installation of the telescope, which having a wide field of view, and equipped with a highly sensitive electronic camera was especially suited for the observation of the comet. Indeed, after the construction of the road on the rocky mountain and the completion of the first stone-made observatory, hundreds of people from all over Greece, among them many officials (including
Vasso Papandreou, then Alternate Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology), came to Skinakas in the Spring 1986, in order to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the Observatory on April 12, 1986, as well as to observe comet Halley. In 1988 the construction of the guesthouse, also made out of stone, was completed and immediately hosted the first school of Observational Astrophysics in Greece. The successful installation and operation of the first small, 0.3m diameter telescope, confirmed the excellent weather conditions at the top of Skinakas for high quality astronomical observations in the
Mediterranean region. As a result, the partner institutions decided to further develop the Observatory by installing a larger and more modern
Ritchey-Chrétien type telescope with a mirror diameter of 1.3 meters. The telescope, which was inaugurated and commenced operations on October 21, 1995, was placed in a metal building to minimize local thermal disturbances (
atmospheric turbulence). The 1.3m telescope was built using high standards of sharpness and wide field of view. These properties ensure excellent imagery and study of extended objects such as
galaxies,
star clusters and
gaseous nebulae. To further improve the observation of extended objects, a
focal reducer had been developed which nearly doubles the field of view while offering the possibility of spectroscopy. In 2006, in collaboration with the
University of Tuebingen, a third 0.6m telescope was installed. This
Cassegrain telescope, called "Ganymede" is fully robotic and web-driven and has a 29.3′×19.5′ field of view. The telescope was operating until 2013 when the dome was severely damage due to adverse weather conditions. In the following years funds were secured, the old building was replaced by a new larger one, along with a fast 5.3m diameter
dome which was built, as the other two that house the 0.3m and 1.3m telescopes, by Baader Planetarium. The robotic telescope was also fully refurbished and became operational once again on May 16, 2022. As of 2000, the power needs of the observatory are served from a
photovoltaic system which provides 11kW peak power and charges a flooded lead-acid battery system with a capacity of ~120 kW·h. Three full sine wave inverters from 48VDC to 220VAC (two 4KVA and one 10KVA) power the needs of the facility. In addition, two diesel generators, of 40kVA and 22kVA power respectively, are used in case of emergency. Since 2019 the operation of Skinakas Observatory is supported by the personnel of the Institute of Astrophysics - FORTH and of the Dept. of Physics, of the Univ. of Crete. Its current director is Prof. Vasiliki Pavlidou. Previous Directors of Skinakas Observatory were Prof. J. Papamastorakis (1984-2009), Prof. J. Papadakis (2009-2019) and Prof. V. Charmandaris (2019-2025). On September 29, 2019, the guesthouse of the observatory was officially renamed by the
Rector of the Univ. of Crete, Prof. P. Tsakalides, to "Ioannis Papamastorakis Guest House". This honour recognized the seminal role of Ioannis Papamastorakis,
Emeritus Professor at the Dept. of Physics of the Univ. of Crete and Director of Skinakas Observatory from 1984 until 2009, in conceiving the idea to create the first research observatory of a University in Greece and making it a reality. The event coincided with the 35-year anniversary of the founding of Skinakas Observatory, as well as 10 years since the retirement of Prof. Papamastorakis. Since 2023, the
ESA project SkinUP upgrades the Skinakas Observatory to optical and quantum communication with
low Earth orbit satellites. The work is carried out by the Space Optics Laboratory. Once completed, it will be an ESA
optical ground station. It will be able to download at speeds of 200
Mbit/s via a laser link using space-to-ground
Free-space optical communication. Quantum communication will be enabled by establishing a
quantum cryptographic channel using a series of single photons. In October 2021, the visited the observatory and about year later donated €1.000.000 for the construction of an education centre and €500.000 for the purchase of a new telescope. The education centre was named
Asteroscholeio and it is expected to be completed by 2025 (see
§ Asteroscholeio). The telescope was named "200+" and it is operational at the observatory since November 2024. It is a 1.0m
Ritchey–Chrétien telescope manufactured by ASA Astrosysteme GmbH and it is used for research and educational purposes, as well as for satellite tracking and
laser communications. == Instruments ==