The starry sky is fascinating. Although today the pleasure of seeing the Milky Way is very difficult - the dustiness of the atmosphere, especially in cities, significantly reduces the ability to view stars in the night sky. That is why a trip to the astronomical observatory becomes a revelation for the layman. And the stars again begin to instill in man hopes and dreams. There are about 60 observatories in Russia, the most important will be discussed in this article.
Some general knowledge
Modern ground-based observatories are research centers. Their tasks are much broader than simply observing celestial bodies, phenomena and artificial space objects.
Modern ground-based observatories are equipped with powerful telescopes (optical and radio), modern tools for processing the received information. They are characterized by the presence of buildings with opening hatches or in general buildings that rotate with optical telescopes. Radio telescopes are installed in the open.
Most observatories are located on higher elevations or with good all-round visibility, and usually their location is tied to certain coordinates, important in astronomy.
History of domestic observatories
In Russia, the first such facility in a separate room appeared on the initiative of Archbishop Athanasius in 1692. An optical telescope was installed on a bell tower in Kholmogory in the Arkhangelsk region.
In 1701, an associate and associate of Peter I, diplomat and scientist Jacob Wilimovich Bruce (James Daniel Bruce, 1670-1735) initiated the opening of an observatory at the Navigation School on the Sukharev Tower in Moscow. It was of great practical importance, there were sextants and quadrants. And it was here that the first solar eclipse of 1706 was observed.
The first official observatory appeared on Vasilievsky Island. It was founded by Peter I, but was opened already under Catherine I in 1725. It is preserved today, but already as a monument of architecture, under the library of the Academy of Sciences. And at one time, this octagonal turret had many shortcomings, including the location within the city.
All of its equipment was transported to the Pulkovo Observatory, the laying of which took place in 1835, and it opened in 1839. For a long time, this astronomical observatory was the leading one in Russia, and today it has retained its position.
Today in Russia there are about 60 observatories and research centers, about 10 higher educational institutions with faculties of astronomy, more than a thousand astronomers and several tens of thousands of enthusiastic star sky enthusiasts.
Most important
Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory is the main one at the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is located on the Pulkovo Heights, which is 19 kilometers south of St. Petersburg. It is located on the Pulkovo Meridian and has coordinates 59 ° 46 "18" north latitude and 30 ° 19 "33" east longitude.
The staff of this main observatory in Russia is 119 researchers, 49 candidates of science and 31 doctors of science. They all work in the following areas: astrometry (parameters of the Universe), celestial mechanics, stellar dynamics, evolution of stars and extragalactic astronomy.
All this is possible due to the presence of sophisticated equipment, the main among which is one of the largest solar telescopes in Europe - the horizontal telescope ACS-5.
Here they conduct evening and night excursions, when you can see especially the starry "black" nights. And at this observatory there is a museum where exhibits are collected illustrating the entire history of astronomy. Here you can see unique astronomical and geodetic ancient instruments.
Number two
One of the largest in Russia is the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory of the LPI FIAN. It was founded in 1956 and today it is one of the best equipped: the RT-22 radio telescope, the meridian type radio telescopes with two DKR-100 and BSA antennas.
Located in Pushchino, Moscow Region, its coordinates are 54 ° 49 "north latitude and 37 ° 38" east longitude.
An interesting fact - in windy weather you can hear the “singing” of telescopes. They say that in the film "War and Peace" Sergey Bondarchuk used the recording of this very tearful song.
Astronomical Observatory of Kazan University
In the center of Kazan on the campus is an old observatory, founded at the Department of Astronomy in 1833. This amazing building in the style of classicism is always popular among city guests. Today it is a regional center for the training and use of satellite navigation systems.
The main tools of this observatory are the Merz refractor, the Repsold heliometer, the George Doll tube, the equator and the time clock.
One of the youngest
The Baikal Astrophysical Observatory was opened in 1980. It is located in the place of a unique microclimate - local anticyclones and small ascending air flows from Lake Baikal create unique conditions for observations here. It belongs to the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and is equipped with unique equipment: a large solar vacuum telescope (the largest in Eurasia), a telescope of the full disk of the Sun, a chromosphere telescope, and a photoheliograph.
The main activities of this observatory in Russia are the observation of the fine structure of solar formations and the registration of solar flares. No wonder it is called the Solar Observatory.
Largest telescope
The largest astronomical center of Russia is the Special Astrophysical Observatory. It is located near Shepherd's Mountain in the North Caucasus (the village of Nizhny Arkhyz, Karachay-Cherkess Republic). It was founded in 1966 to operate the largest telescope in Russia - the Great Azimuthal. Work on its assembly took 15 years and today it is a telescope with a maximum six-meter optical mirror. Its dome is 50 meters high and 45 meters in diameter.
In addition to it, 2 more telescopes of slightly smaller sizes are also installed here.
It organizes excursions for tourists, and in the summer, this telescope is visited by up to 700 people a day. Tourists go to this remote area also to see the icon of the Face of Christ. This is a unique cave icon, which is located one kilometer from the observatory.
Here, in Arkhyz, the past seems to be in contact with the future and the desire of mankind for the stars.
Our own sky is not enough
In 2017, a Russian-Cuban project was launched to equip two observatories in Cuba. There is an active discussion of the selection of the most optimal astroclimatic and meteorological conditions for the placement of these autonomous and fully automated telescopes.
The goal of the project involves the collection and analysis of information on the spectral, positional and photometric characteristics of various space objects.