The Zelenchuk Observatory is included in the KVAZAR-KVO network of VLBI (radio interferometry with ultra-long bases). In addition to it, the VLBI includes similar observation posts in the Leningrad Region (Svetloye village), in the Republic of Buryatia (Badary tract) and in the Crimea (Simeiz).
The task of the Zelenchuk Observatory is radio interferometric observations of extragalactic radio sources and the processing of the obtained data.
History
The Zelenchukskaya Radio Astronomy Observatory (RAO) was created in accordance with the decision of the USSR Government and the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences (AN). Its location was the village of Zelenchukskaya, Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Region (KCHAO). The foothills of the North Caucasus were optimally suited for solving the tasks assigned to the observatory.
It began its work in June 1966, having the status of a research institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Currently, the observatory (Zelenchuksky district, KChAO) is considered the main ground-based center for space research in the country, and telescopes are among the largest in the world.
Technical equipment of the observatory
To solve the tasks, the Zelenchuks Observatory is equipped with a large azimuth telescope (BTA), as well as the RATAN-600 radio telescope.
The BTA optical telescope has a mirror with a diameter of 6 meters. RATAN-600 is equipped with a 600-meter ring antenna. These facilities were commissioned from 1975 to 1977.
In 17 kilometers from the village of Nizhny Arkhyz, in addition to the BTA, optical telescopes with mirrors with a diameter of 1 meter and 0.6 meter are located.
A little further, near the village of Zelenchukskaya, is RATAN-600 with a laboratory building and a hotel.
When creating a radio telescope, the developments of Kaydanovsky Naum Lvovich were used.
What is inside the BTA?
The interior of the telescope resembles a computer game with an apocalyptic plot: black doors made of metal, gloomy stairs with a minimum of lighting, leading to mysterious rooms with no less mysterious equipment.
Here you will not see a huge magnifying glass at the end of the telescope (this is the idea of ​​the telescope that most people have). There is a metal hatch in the upper part of the telescope, and in its widest part there is a huge mirror with a concave surface. Between them is the workplace of an observer astronomer. This is a small room, which, most likely, resembles an atomic bomb shelter or the cockpit of the first astronaut, astronomers nicknamed the "glass" for the limited space.
With the hatch open, the light hits the mirror. Focusing on the concave surface of the mirror, he gives a magnified view of the starry sky. The staff of the observatory subsequently “conjures” above this picture.
True, now astronomers do not have to sit in a “glass”, since the person has already been replaced by “smart” devices that are located here and are controlled by a person from the outside.
But all this is in the upper (working) part of the telescope. In the lower part, everything looks exactly the opposite: it is light and solemn, since the front lobby is located here. Excursions usually begin with it.
Observatory Achievements
The work carried out by the team of RAO Zelenchukskaya made it possible to make a significant contribution to the treasury of humanity in the study of outer space. A team of 120 scientists succeeded in:
- determine the masses of one and a half thousand galaxies;
- detect more than five hundred galaxies with active nuclei;
- open the blue dwarf galaxy SBS 0335-052;
- discover a space whose existence does not fit into any of the existing theories of cosmologists.
Scientists also found that the active enrichment of the heavy elements of the Milky Way ended about five billion years ago.
Interesting Facts
The radio astronomy observatory (Zelenchuksky district), reviews of which were and are ambiguous, once became an object of criticism for members of a high-ranking commission.
The fact is that when examining the observatory, the commission unexpectedly heard frogs croaking. And since this “singing” was associated with the swamp among the inspectors, the conclusion was accordingly made: the observatory was built on a swamp.
What cost the leadership of the observatory to convince the commission of the opposite - history is silent. But the fact that the observatory works to this day speaks of a successfully closed question regarding the presence of frogs in the territory of the object.
By the way, the very idea of ​​building such an object as the Zelenchuk Observatory in the Russian Federation was criticized by many experts. Their main argument was the astronomical climate in the country (in Russia there are only 200 cloudless nights a year).
Does Zelenchukskaya have any prospects?
The question is far from idle, taking into account the fact that today the Hubble Space Telescope launched into the Earth’s orbit is already used for space exploration.
Of course, the Hubble takes beautiful pictures of space objects, but it cost science several times more than any ground-based observatory. However, experts do not see much difference between the images obtained by the space telescope and the images of ground-based telescopes.
However, the Zelenchuksk Observatory and similar centers cannot work in the spectral regions where the atmosphere is opaque. Therefore, space information in the X-ray wavelength range is not available for the ground-based observatory. Here the advantage of the Hubble orbital telescope is evident, since it does not interfere with the earth's atmosphere.
But here again everything is leveled out by the question of the cost of projects, in particular, the launch of Hubble into the orbit of our planet, which also cost a round sum.
Thus, it is not necessary to speak of ground-based observatories as unpromising projects.
Russian astronomy today, its prospects
Unfortunately, the question of the prospects of Russian astronomy cannot be categorized as rhetorical. According to experts, today Russia is not able to build large telescopes that meet modern requirements.
There are plenty of reasons for this - the lack of the necessary funds for their construction, the shortage of personnel capable of doing this work, and, in the end, the presence of a poor astroclimate. All this, of course, in no way motivates Russian science to such ambitious projects.
However, Russian astronomers cherish the hope of joining the European Southern Observatory consortium. This will allow them to access the latest telescopes in the world.
But this membership will cost about 120 million in European currency, which represents a considerable amount for the current budget of a country in economic crisis.