What threatens the Pulkovo Observatory with the development of the nearby territory and the gradually approaching St. Petersburg and what can be done to prevent this, the site understood.

What happened?

This week, the media reported on the coordination of plans for building up the territory adjacent to the Main (Pulkovo) Astronomical Observatory (GAO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences. At a distance of less than a kilometer from the GAO, construction of residential buildings may soon begin. A new microdistrict in the vicinity of St. Petersburg with a total area of ​​240 hectares will receive a romantic, quite astronomical name "Planetograd". More than a hundred billion rubles have been invested in the project.

The building permit was given by Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Nazar Ikhsanov, who headed the observatory in June of this year, without informing the scientific council of the State Autonomous Okrug and the group for astroclimatic research.

For reference

The Pulkovo Observatory, one of the oldest observatories in Russia, was opened in 1839 at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. It is located 19 kilometers from St. Petersburg, 75 meters above sea level. The observatory is protected by UNESCO. Observations are carried out with the help of a normal astrograph, the Freiberg-Kondratiev zenith telescope, a 26-inch refractor, and the Big Pulkovo radio telescope. There are also observation stations in the Caucasus (Kislovodsk) and in the Apennines (Campo Emperor).

Everyone learned about what was happening not from the internal acts of the observatory, but from the Internet, when they saw that apartments in future buildings were being sold.

Source site

What does the law say?

By order of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR in 1945, without the permission of the GAO, it is forbidden to erect any buildings within a radius of three kilometers, that is, within the protective park zone, because they interfere with astronomical research. The current situation suggests that the management violated the internal regulations of the observatory. In a conversation with a correspondent of the site, a source close to the GAO said that the director managed to sign the necessary papers on October 24, 2016, that is, the day before the meeting of the astroclimatic group. Thus, he was ahead of events that would have prohibited such actions. According to the source, the information about the incident reached the Academic Council very late. “Everyone learned about what was happening not from the internal acts of the observatory, but from the Internet, when they saw that apartments in future buildings were being sold. Everyone began to ask the question "Who authorized this?" and found in the internal acts a paper signed by the director, who believes that such a complex cannot interfere with scientific work,” the interlocutor comments. On the basis of this document, the city structures responsible for urban planning issued a building permit.

What difficulties still exist?

It is no secret that the Pulkovo observatory, located relatively close to the northern capital, is located in an unfavorable astronomical climate zone. As a rule, observatories are built in mountainous regions, in areas remote from large cities. The most accurate data can be obtained only where the air is clean and dry, and the sky is not illuminated. According to astronomers from the GAO, St. Petersburg interferes only in the northern part. At the same time, the south side remains dark, so observations are being made there. Now that Planetograd is completed, astronomical research at the Pulkovo Observatory will lose its value altogether, scientific work without observations will be difficult. All existing telescopes, the care of which requires money, can be sent to the scrap.

The situation is complicated by the fact that, according to the source, “a split has occurred within the already weak society of scientists.” Recently, mass layoffs have begun in the GAO, the staff has almost halved. Now many people who still remain at the observatory do not have the opportunity to openly oppose the decision of the directorate. “They are all scared that they might lose their jobs,” the source said. - Some employees live in a departmental settlement. Left without a job, they may lose their homes.” Scientists were bound hand and foot.

If the city authorities and the prosecutor's office take up the case in a timely manner, then litigation is not ruled out. The GAO looks forward to the support of other astronomical institutions that benefit from the observatory's observations. In this situation, astronomers can only rely on justice and the support of local authorities and activists of social movements. A petition appeared on the website change.org, calling for a ban on construction in the buffer zone of the Pulkovo Observatory.

“It is no longer the capital, but the quality there is high”

Scientific Director of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yury Balega: “First of all, this is a historical and cultural monument of our entire country, this is what the country should be proud of and what it should always remember. Without this, there can be no people and there can be no state if it destroys memory with all sorts of buildings and all sorts of filth.

An association of all astronomers is needed, and only on the basis of a common decision should the program of the Pulkovo Observatory be worked out.

Yuri Balega

Director of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The Pulkovo observatory will definitely have to prepare a research program for decades to come, namely the creation of new observation stations, but not in Pulkovo. In addition, since there is a large city nearby with a large number of universities, optical and mechanical industries, Pulkovo should become the center where new instruments for our country will be created: large telescopes or other instruments. All astronomers in the country need to work on this together, the Pulkovo residents alone will not be able to cope. We need an association of all astronomers, and it is only on the basis of a common decision that the program of the Pulkovo Observatory should be developed.”

Vladimir Surdin, Senior Research Fellow, SAI MSU, Associate Professor, Faculty of Physics, MSU: “The astroclimate has never been favorable there. Peter has always been Peter. But there are things that have always been dear to us. The most ancient observations that were made in Russia were made from the Pulkovo Observatory. It is very important to continue them. For several centuries in the sky, weakly, slowly, something is changing. When we have a large difference in epochs, the accuracy becomes very high. This, I think, is what the people of Pulkovo have in mind when they want to preserve their possibilities for observation. Yes, this is certainly not a mountainous area. This is a city, there is an airport.

On the other hand, I understand that civilization is pressing. They have nowhere to go, they have to give up. In the center of Moscow there is an observatory of the Moscow State University, and we are holding on for now, although we are also under pressure. But Pulkovo is much more useful, much more valuable than our Moscow one. Our young one is 150 years old. Pulkovo was once called "the astronomical capital of the world." It is no longer the capital, but the quality there is high.

An observatory is a scientific institution in which employees - scientists of various specialties - observe natural phenomena, analyze observations, and continue to study what happens in nature on their basis.

Astronomical observatories are especially common: we usually imagine them when we hear this word. They explore stars, planets, large star clusters, and other space objects.

But there are other types of these institutions:

- geophysical - to study the atmosphere, the aurora, the Earth's magnetosphere, the properties of rocks, the state of the earth's crust in seismically active regions and other similar issues and objects;

- auroral - to study the aurora borealis;

- seismic - for continuous and detailed registration of all fluctuations of the earth's crust and their study;

- meteorological - to study weather conditions and identify weather patterns;

- cosmic ray observatories and a number of others.

Where are observatories built?

Observatories are built in those areas that give scientists the maximum material for research.


Meteorological - in all corners of the Earth; astronomical - in the mountains (where the air is clean, dry, not "blinded" by city lighting), radio observatories - at the bottom of deep valleys, inaccessible to artificial radio interference.

Astronomical observatories

Astronomical - the most ancient type of observatories. Astronomers in ancient times were priests, they kept a calendar, studied the movement of the Sun in the sky, predicted events, the fate of people, depending on the juxtaposition of celestial bodies. These were astrologers - people who were afraid of even the most ferocious rulers.

Ancient observatories were usually located in the upper rooms of the towers. The tools were a straight bar equipped with a sliding sight.

The great astronomer of antiquity was Ptolemy, who collected in the Library of Alexandria a huge number of astronomical evidence, records, formed a catalog of positions and brightness for 1022 stars; invented the mathematical theory of the movement of the planets and compiled tables of motion - scientists used these tables for more than 1,000 years!

In the Middle Ages, observatories were especially actively built in the East. The giant Samarkand observatory is known, where Ulugbek, a descendant of the legendary Timur-Tamerlane, observed the movement of the Sun, describing it with unprecedented accuracy. The observatory with a radius of 40 m had the form of a sextant-trench with a south orientation and marble decoration.

The greatest astronomer of the European Middle Ages, who almost literally turned the world upside down, was Nicolaus Copernicus, who “moved” the Sun to the center of the universe instead of the Earth and proposed to consider the Earth as another planet.


And one of the most advanced observatories was Uraniborg, or Sky Castle, the property of Tycho Brahe, the Danish court astronomer. The observatory was equipped with the best, most accurate instrument at that time, had its own workshops for making instruments, a chemical laboratory, a storage of books and documents, and even a printing press for its own needs and a paper mill for paper production - royal luxury at that time!

In 1609, the first telescope appeared - the main instrument of any astronomical observatory. Its creator was Galileo. It was a reflecting telescope: the rays were refracted in it, passing through a series of glass lenses.

Kepler improved the telescope: in his device, the image was inverted, but of better quality. This feature eventually became standard for telescopic instruments.

In the 17th century, with the development of navigation, state observatories began to appear - the Royal Paris, the Royal Greenwich observatories in Poland, Denmark, Sweden. The revolutionary consequence of their construction and activities was the introduction of a time standard: it was now regulated by light signals, and then by telegraph and radio.

In 1839, the Pulkovo Observatory (St. Petersburg) was opened, which became one of the most famous in the world. Today there are more than 60 observatories in Russia. One of the largest on an international scale is the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory, founded in 1956.

The Zvenigorod Observatory (12 km from Zvenigorod) has the only VAU camera in the world capable of carrying out mass observations of geostation satellites. In 2014, Moscow State University opened an observatory on Mount Shadzhatmaz (Karachay-Cherkessia), where they installed the largest modern telescope in Russia, with a diameter of 2.5 m.

The best modern foreign observatories

mauna kea- located on the Big Hawaiian Island, has the largest arsenal of high-precision equipment on Earth.

VLT complex("huge telescope") - located in Chile, in the Atacama "desert of telescopes".


Yerk Observatory in the United States, "the birthplace of astrophysics".

ORM Observatory(Canary Islands) - has an optical telescope with the largest aperture (ability to collect light).

Arecibo- located in Puerto Rico and owns a radio telescope (305 m) with one of the largest apertures in the world.

Tokyo University Observatory(Atacama) - the highest on Earth, located at the top of Mount Cerro Chainantor.

Moletai observatory was opened in 1969 y, replacing two old Vilnius observatories, one of which appeared in 1753, and the other in 1921. The place for the new one was chosen outside the city, near the village of Kulioniai, on a two-hundred-meter Kaldiniai hill. And a few years ago, a very special museum appeared next to the observatory - the Ethno-Cosmological Museum. Its building is made of aluminum and glass: against the backdrop of local lake-forest landscapes, the museum looks like a landed spaceship. Exposition to match: space artifacts, fragments of meteorites and the mass of all entertaining.

Night sky observations are organized in the museum: the telescope is installed on top of its 45-meter tower in a special dome. But daytime observations of the sun are available both in the museum and in the observatory itself. By the way, since Moletai is considered the absolute champion of Lithuania in terms of the abundance of beautiful lakes, this area is full of holiday houses and spa hotels. Therefore, it is not at all difficult to comfortably sit in the immediate vicinity of the observatory and the museum.

2. Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Canary Islands, Garafia, La Palma)

Admission fee: free

Roque de los Muchachos, one of the most significant modern scientific observatories, located at an altitude of 2400 meters above sea level near the National Park de la Caldera de Taburiente. The strictly scientific orientation of the observatory is obvious if only from the fact that the use of research equipment is possible only for its intended purpose - for research. Mere mortals will not be allowed to look into telescopes here.

But for those who are interested in more than just stargazing, and astronomy itself as a science, it is definitely worth visiting Roque de los Muchachos. At the disposal of the observatory is one of the largest optical telescopes to date, the Gran Tekan with a reflector of 10.4 meters; a telescope that provides the highest resolution image of the sun to date, and other unique instruments. You can see these devices, learn about the structure of their mechanisms and listen to a lecture on astronomy all year round. Visiting the observatory is free, but you need to book a visit as early as possible: at least two weeks (and in the summer - a month) before the expected date of the visit.

But since the Canaries- this is one of the three best places on the planet for astronomical observations, in addition to Roque de los Muchachos, the islands have the equally large Teide observatory, located in Tenerife (also owned by the Canarian Astrophysical Institute), and private amateur observatories. Some travel agencies even offer special astro-tours to the Canary Islands, accommodating their clients in the most favorable points for independent observations of the islands and organizing group excursions to both Roque de los Muchachos and Teide.

3. Tien Shan Astronomical Observatory (Almaty, Kazakhstan)

Admission fee: to be confirmed upon request

The most important thing in the Tien Shan Astronomical Observatory the place where it was built. This is an ancient glacial valley next to a lake of rare beauty - Big Almaty. Surrounded by mountains, the lake constantly changes the color of the water: depending on the season, weather and time of day.

The altitude of the observatory- 2700 meters above sea level, lakes - 2511. Opened in 1957, the observatory for many years was called the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute, abbreviated SAI. This is how the locals still call it, and it is this abbreviation that should be used if you have to ask them for directions to the observatory. Getting to the observatory, by the way, is not at all as difficult as it might seem - the distance to it from the center of Almaty will take about an hour by car.

Driving a car is not even worth trying.- such a car will not pass above the famous Medeu skating rink, but the jeep will be able to do the road. But if you have no experience of driving in the mountains, it is better to use the service of transporting guests provided by the observatory. By contacting the administration of the observatory in advance, you can also book a hotel room, mountain excursions and, of course, a program of stargazing. When ordering excursions to the mountains, you need to remember that the proximity of glaciers makes itself felt even in the midst of summer, and it will not be out of place to take a winter jacket with you. Even higher in the mountains are the Special Solar Observatory and the Cosmostation, but these institutions do not conduct any educational activities for tourists, so it is almost impossible to get into them.

4. Sonnenborg Observatory Museum (Utrecht, Holland)

Admission fee: €8

Observatory on the canal It is no coincidence that it looks like a fortress: its building is part of the Utrecht bastion of the 16th century. In the 1840s, during the construction of gardens around the bastion, most of its structures were destroyed, and in 1853 an observatory was created in one of the surviving buildings, which at first housed the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute.

Sonnenborg holds one of the oldest European telescopes, and among the merits of the observatory to world astronomy is that, thanks to the research carried out in it, in 1940 an atlas of lines of the solar spectrum was published. The research was led by the famous astronomer Marcel Minnart, who headed the observatory for 26 years.

By the way, Sonnenborg's status- a public observatory, that is, observations of the stars in it are available to everyone (but only from September to early April). In order to take part in one of the evening sky surveys, you need to apply in advance through the observatory website.

5. San Pedro Valley Observatory (Benson, Arizona, USA)

Cost of visiting: from $130

San Pedro Valley is not just a private observatory, and a whole astronomical center for amateurs. Until 2010, until the owners changed, the observatory even had its own mini-hotel. But the new owners abandoned this idea, and now the guests will have to look for an overnight stay in the nearest town - Benson.

But arrange for them to observe for the stars here are ready around the clock and at any time of the year - the charm of a private observatory in the absence of strict conditions for visiting. The owners came up with a lot of educational and entertainment programs for their customers, and on their basis they are ready to make an individual one for each. You can come to them with the whole family, and in the summer and during holidays you can bring your child to the astronomy camp at the observatory.

Another option for those those who can’t get to Arizona in any way: with the necessary software, it is possible to connect your computer to the observatory’s equipment and watch the stars from your own apartment. But the most important entertainment in San Pedro Valley, space icing on the cake, is astrophotography, available to everyone.

6. Givatayim Astronomical Observatory (Givatayim, Israel)

Observatory in Givatayim- the oldest in Israel and, in fact, the main one. It was built in 1967 on top of a hill with a very foreign name - Kozlovsky, and today the observatory staff conducts ongoing educational activities at various levels - from programs for students studying astronomy to educational circles for children.

In addition to the usual stargazing sessions, everyone can join two special sections: the meteor section and the variable star section. The observatory receives visitors several times a week, and on one of the days there is always a lecture by one of the representatives of the Israel Astronomical Association, whose central office, in fact, is located in the observatory. In addition, you can sign up for a visit on the days of lunar and solar eclipses, as well as attend a lesson that will teach you how to build a telescope yourself.

In addition to the glory of a major educational center, the observatory has a lot of other achievements in the field of important discoveries, and the person who today heads the section for observations of variable stars set a truly Stakhanovite record by making more than 22,000 of these same observations in one year.

7. Kodaikanal Observatory (Kodaikanal, India)

Admission fee: on request

One of the three oldest solar observatories in the world located in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu - aka Tamil Nadu. Its construction began in 1895, on the highest hill in these places, and by the end of construction, part of the equipment of the observatory in Madras, which had been operating since 1787, was moved there. As soon as the Kodaikanal observatory began to function in a full-fledged mode, British scientists immediately settled here, at an altitude of 2343 meters above sea level. In 1909, astronomer John Evershed, working in Kodaikanal, was the first to notice a special, reminiscent of a pulsation, movement of "spots" on the sun: for solar astronomy, his discovery was a major breakthrough. However, scientists were able to explain the reasons for this phenomenon, called the Evershed effect, only a century later.

The observatory has a museum and a library, and for visitors it is open in the evenings once (sometimes twice) a week.

Details Category: The work of astronomers Published on 11.10.2012 17:13 Views: 7493

An astronomical observatory is a research institution in which systematic observations of celestial bodies and phenomena are carried out.

Usually the observatory is built on an elevated area, where a good outlook opens up. The observatory is equipped with observation instruments: optical and radio telescopes, instruments for processing the results of observations: astrographs, spectrographs, astrophotometers and other devices for characterizing celestial bodies.

From the history of the observatory

It is difficult even to name the time when the first observatories appeared. Of course, these were primitive structures, but nevertheless, observations of heavenly bodies were carried out in them. The most ancient observatories are located in Assyria, Babylon, China, Egypt, Persia, India, Mexico, Peru and other states. The ancient priests, in fact, were the first astronomers, because they observed the starry sky.
An observatory dating back to the Stone Age. It is located near London. This building was both a temple and a place for astronomical observations - the interpretation of Stonehenge as a grand observatory of the Stone Age belongs to J. Hawkins and J. White. Assumptions that this is the oldest observatory are based on the fact that its stone slabs are installed in a certain order. It is well known that Stonehenge was a sacred place of the Druids - representatives of the priestly caste of the ancient Celts. Druids were very well versed in astronomy, for example, in the structure and movement of stars, the size of the Earth and planets, and various astronomical phenomena. About where they got this knowledge, science is not known. It is believed that they inherited them from the true builders of Stonehenge and, thanks to this, they had great power and influence.

Another ancient observatory was found on the territory of Armenia, built about 5 thousand years ago.
In the 15th century in Samarkand, the great astronomer Ulugbek built an outstanding observatory for its time, in which the main instrument was a huge quadrant for measuring the angular distances of stars and other bodies (read about this on our website: http://website/index.php/earth/rabota-astrnom/10-etapi- astronimii/12-sredneverovaya-astronomiya).
The first observatory in the modern sense of the word was the famous museum in Alexandria arranged by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Aristillus, Timocharis, Hipparchus, Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, Geminus, Ptolemy and others achieved unprecedented results here. Here, for the first time, instruments with divided circles began to be used. Aristarchus installed a copper circle in the plane of the equator and with its help observed directly the times of the passage of the Sun through the equinoxes. Hipparchus invented the astrolabe (an astronomical instrument based on the principle of stereographic projection) with two mutually perpendicular circles and diopters for observations. Ptolemy introduced quadrants and installed them with a plumb line. The transition from full circles to quadrants was, in fact, a step backwards, but the authority of Ptolemy kept quadrants in observatories until the time of Römer, who proved that full circles made observations more accurately; however, the quadrants were completely abandoned only at the beginning of the 19th century.

The first observatories of the modern type began to be built in Europe after the invention of the telescope in the 17th century. The first large state observatory - parisian. It was built in 1667. Along with quadrants and other instruments of ancient astronomy, large refracting telescopes were already used here. In 1675 opened Greenwich Royal Observatory in England, on the outskirts of London.
There are more than 500 observatories in the world.

Russian observatories

The first observatory in Russia was the private observatory of A.A. Lyubimov in Kholmogory, Arkhangelsk region, opened in 1692. In 1701, by decree of Peter I, an observatory was created at the Navigation School in Moscow. In 1839, the Pulkovo Observatory near St. Petersburg was founded, equipped with the most advanced instruments, which made it possible to obtain high-precision results. For this, the Pulkovo Observatory was named the astronomical capital of the world. Now there are more than 20 astronomical observatories in Russia, among them the Main (Pulkovo) Astronomical Observatory of the Academy of Sciences is the leading one.

Observatories of the world

Among foreign observatories, the largest are Greenwich (Great Britain), Harvard and Mount Palomar (USA), Potsdam (Germany), Krakow (Poland), Byurakan (Armenia), Vienna (Austria), Crimean (Ukraine), etc. Observatories of various countries share the results of observations and research, often work on the same program to develop the most accurate data.

The device of observatories

For modern observatories, a characteristic view is the building of a cylindrical or polyhedral shape. These are towers in which telescopes are installed. Modern observatories are equipped with optical telescopes located in closed domed buildings or radio telescopes. The light radiation collected by telescopes is recorded by photographic or photoelectric methods and analyzed to obtain information about distant astronomical objects. Observatories are usually located far from cities, in climatic zones with little cloud cover and, if possible, on high plateaus, where atmospheric turbulence is negligible and infrared radiation absorbed by the lower atmosphere can be studied.

Types of observatories

There are specialized observatories that work according to a narrow scientific program: radio astronomy, mountain stations for observing the Sun; some observatories are associated with observations made by astronauts from spacecraft and orbital stations.
Most of the infrared and ultraviolet range, as well as X-rays and gamma rays of cosmic origin, are inaccessible to observations from the Earth's surface. In order to study the Universe in these rays, it is necessary to take observation instruments into space. Until recently, extra-atmospheric astronomy was unavailable. Now it has become a rapidly developing branch of science. The results obtained with space telescopes, without the slightest exaggeration, turned over many of our ideas about the Universe.
The modern space telescope is a unique set of instruments developed and operated by several countries for many years. Thousands of astronomers from all over the world take part in observations at modern orbital observatories.

The picture shows the project of the largest infrared optical telescope at the European Southern Observatory with a height of 40 m.

The successful operation of a space observatory requires the joint efforts of a variety of specialists. Space engineers prepare the telescope for launch, put it into orbit, monitor the power supply of all instruments and their normal functioning. Each object can be observed for several hours, so it is especially important to keep the orientation of the satellite orbiting the Earth in the same direction so that the axis of the telescope remains aimed directly at the object.

infrared observatories

To carry out infrared observations, a rather large load has to be sent into space: the telescope itself, devices for processing and transmitting information, a cooler that should protect the IR receiver from background radiation - infrared quanta emitted by the telescope itself. Therefore, in the entire history of space flight, very few infrared telescopes have operated in space. The first infrared observatory was launched in January 1983 as part of the joint American-European project IRAS. In November 1995, the European Space Agency launched the ISO infrared observatory into low Earth orbit. It has a telescope with the same mirror diameter as IRAS, but more sensitive detectors are used to detect radiation. A wider range of the infrared spectrum is available for ISO observations. Currently, several more projects of space infrared telescopes are being developed, which will be launched in the coming years.
Do not do without infrared equipment and interplanetary stations.

ultraviolet observatories

The ultraviolet radiation of the Sun and stars is almost completely absorbed by the ozone layer of our atmosphere, so UV quanta can only be recorded in the upper layers of the atmosphere and beyond.
For the first time, an ultraviolet reflecting telescope with a mirror diameter (SO cm) and a special ultraviolet spectrometer were launched into space on the joint American-European satellite Copernicus, launched in August 1972. Observations on it were carried out until 1981.
Currently, work is underway in Russia to prepare for the launch of a new ultraviolet telescope "Spektr-UV" with a mirror diameter of 170 cm. observations with ground-based instruments in the ultraviolet (UV) part of the electromagnetic spectrum: 100-320 nm.
The project is headed by Russia and included in the Federal Space Program for 2006-2015. Russia, Spain, Germany and Ukraine are currently participating in the project. Kazakhstan and India are also showing interest in participating in the project. The Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences is the lead scientific organization of the project. The head organization for the rocket and space complex is the NPO named after. S.A. Lavochkin.
The main instrument of the observatory is being created in Russia - a space telescope with a primary mirror 170 cm in diameter. The telescope will be equipped with high and low resolution spectrographs, a long slit spectrograph, as well as cameras for high-quality imaging in the UV and optical regions of the spectrum.
In terms of capabilities, the VKO-UV project is comparable to the American Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and even surpasses it in spectroscopy.
WSO-UV will open up new opportunities for planetary research, stellar, extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology. The launch of the observatory is scheduled for 2016.

X-ray observatories

X-rays convey information to us about powerful cosmic processes associated with extreme physical conditions. The high energy of X-ray and gamma quanta makes it possible to register them "by the piece", with an accurate indication of the time of registration. X-ray detectors are relatively easy to manufacture and light in weight. Therefore, they were used for observations in the upper atmosphere and beyond with the help of high-altitude rockets even before the first launches of artificial earth satellites. X-ray telescopes were installed at many orbital stations and interplanetary spacecraft. In total, about a hundred such telescopes have been in near-Earth space.

gamma-ray observatories

Gamma radiation is closely adjacent to X-rays, so similar methods are used to register it. Very often, telescopes launched into near-Earth orbits simultaneously investigate both X-ray and gamma-ray sources. Gamma rays convey to us information about the processes occurring inside atomic nuclei, and about the transformations of elementary particles in space.
The first observations of cosmic gamma sources were classified. In the late 60s - early 70s. The United States launched four military satellites of the Vela series. The equipment of these satellites was developed to detect bursts of hard X-ray and gamma radiation that occur during nuclear explosions. However, it turned out that most of the recorded bursts are not associated with military tests, and their sources are located not on Earth, but in space. Thus, one of the most mysterious phenomena in the Universe was discovered - gamma-ray flashes, which are single powerful flashes of hard radiation. Although the first cosmic gamma-ray bursts were recorded as early as 1969, information about them was published only four years later.