Zelenchuk Radio Astronomy Observatory: description, location and history

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Zelenchukskaya Observatory is included in the VLBI (very long baseline radio interferometry) network "Kvazar-KVO". In addition to it, the VLBI includes similar observation posts in the Leningrad region (the village of Svetloe), in the Republic of Buryatia (the Badary tract) and in the Crimea (Simeiz).

The task of the Zelenchuk observatory is radio interferometric observations of extragalactic radio sources and processing of the received 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.

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 center for space researchin the country, and the telescopes are among the largest in the world.

Technical equipment of the observatory

To solve the tasks set, the Zelenchuk 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 between 1975 and 1977.

At 17 kilometers from the village of Nizhny Arkhyz, in addition to the BTA, there are optical telescopes with mirrors with a diameter of 1 meter and 0.6 meters.

Slightly further, near the village of Zelenchukskaya, there is RATAN-600 with a laboratory building and a hotel.

When creating the radio telescope, the developments of Naum Lvovich Kaidanovsky were used.

What's inside the BTA?

The interior of the telescope resembles a computer game with an apocalyptic plot: black metal doors, gloomy stairs with a minimum of lighting leading to mysterious rooms with no less mysterious equipment.

You won't see the huge magnifying glass at the end of the telescope here (which is what most people think of a telescope). In the upper part of the telescope there is a metal hatch, and in its widest part there is a huge mirror with a concave surface. Between them is the workplace of an astronomer-observer. This is a small room, which most likely resembles an atomic bomb shelter or the cabin of the first astronaut, astronomers nicknamed the "glass" forlimited space.

When the sunroof is open, the light hits the mirror. Focusing on the concave surface of the mirror, it gives an enlarged picture of the starry sky. Over this picture and "conjure" in the future, the staff of the observatory.

True, now astronomers do not have to sit in the “glass”, as the person has already been replaced by “smart” devices that are placed here and are controlled by a person from the outside.

But all this is in the upper (working) part of the telescope. In its lower part, everything looks exactly the opposite: light and solemn, since the front lobby is located here. Tours usually start with it.

Achievements of the observatory

The work carried out by the team of RAO "Zelenchukskaya" has made it possible to make a significant contribution to the treasury of mankind in the study of outer space. A team of 120 researchers succeeded in:

• determine the masses of one and a half thousand galaxies;
• detect more than five hundred galaxies with active nuclei;
• discover 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 heavy elements in the Milky Way ended about five billion years ago.

Interesting facts

The Radio Astronomy Observatory (Zelenchuksky District), reviews of which were and are ambiguous, oncebecame the object of criticism from members of a high-ranking commission.

The fact is that when examining the observatory, the commission suddenly heard the croaking of frogs. And since this “singing” was associated with the inspectors with a swamp, the conclusion was made accordingly: the observatory was built on a swamp.

What it cost the leadership of the observatory to convince the commission of the opposite - history is silent. But the fact that the observatory is still operating to this day speaks of the successfully closed issue regarding the presence of frogs on the site.

By the way, the very idea of building such an object as the Zelenchuk Observatory on the territory of 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 being idle, taking into account the fact that today the Hubble Space Telescope, launched into Earth orbit, is already used for space research.

Of course, Hubble takes great pictures of space objects, but it cost science several orders of magnitude more than any ground-based observatory. At the same time, experts do not see much difference between images taken by a space telescope and images from ground-based telescopes.

However, the Zelenchuk Observatory and similar centers cannot operate in spectral regions where the atmosphere is opaque. Therefore, space informationX-ray wavelength range is not available to a ground-based observatory. Here the advantage of the Hubble orbiting telescope is obvious, since it is not interfered with by the earth's atmosphere.

But here again, everything is leveled by the issue of the cost of projects, in particular, the launch of the Hubble into orbit of our planet, which also cost a tidy sum.

Thus, it is not necessary to talk about ground-based observatories as unpromising projects yet.

Russian astronomy today, its prospects

Unfortunately, the question of the prospects for 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 - this is the lack of necessary funds for their construction, the shortage of personnel capable of doing this work, and, in the end, the presence of a bad astroclimate. All this, of course, in no way motivates Russian science for such grandiose projects.

However, Russian astronomers cherish the hope of getting into the European Southern Observatory consortium. This will allow them to access the world's latest telescopes.

But this membership will cost about 120 million in European currency, which is a considerable amount for the current budget of a country in economic crisis.