I immediately recalled me in the comments that you need to write about BTA-6. I fulfill the wishes :-)

For many years, the world's largest BT telescope (a large azimuthal telescope) belonged to our country, and it was constructed and was built completely using domestic technologies, demonstrating the country's leadership in the field of creating optical instruments. In early 60s, Soviet scientists received from the government "Special Task" - to create a telescope more than Americans (Hale's telescope - 5 m.). It was considered that the meter would be more enough, since the Americans generally considered senseless the creation of whole mirrors with a size of more than 5 meters due to deformation under their own weight.

What is the history of creating this unique scientific object?

Now we will find out ...

By the way, the first photo from very, see him necessarily too.

Photo 3.

M. V. Keldysh, L. A. Artzimovich, I. M. Kopylov and others at the BTA construction site. 1966

The history of the Great Telescope of Azimuthal (BTA, Karachay-Cherkessia) began on March 25, 1960, when, at the proposal of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the State Committee on Defense Equipment, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a decree on creating a complex with a reflector telescope, having a major mirror with a diameter of 6 meters.

His appointment is "the study of the structure, physical nature and evolution of extragalactic facilities, a detailed study of the physical characteristics and the chemical composition of non-stationary and magnetic stars." The head performer was appointed state optical and mechanical plant to them. OGPU (GOM), on the basis of which Lomo was soon formed, and the main designer - Bagrat Konstantinovich Ioannisiani. BTA was the newest astronomical technique for his time, which contained many truly revolutionary solutions. Since then, the mounting of all large telescopes in the world is carried out by brilliantly justified by the alt-azimuth scheme, for the first time in the world practice applied by our scientists in BTA. Specialists of the highest class have worked on its creation, which ensured the high quality of the giant instrument. For more than 30 years, BTA has been carrying his star Watch. This telescope is able to distinguish between the astronomical objects of the 27th magnitude. Imagine that the land is flat; And then, if someone would have seen a cigarette in Japan, with the help of a telescope it could be clear to see.

Photo 4.

Cleaning the bottom of the pit. February 1966

After analyzing all the data, the platform for the BTA telescope was the place at an altitude of 2100 meters near the Pastukhov Mountain, near the village Zelenchukskaya, which is located in Karachay-Cherkessia - Nizhny Arkhyz.

The project was selected azimuthal type of telescope mount. The complete outer diameter of the mirror was 6.05 meters with a thickness of 65 cm, uniform over the entire area.

The design of the design of the telescope was produced in the room Lomo. Especially for this, the body was built with a height of over 50 meters. Inside the housing, lifting cranes were installed with a carrying capacity of 150 and 30 tons. Before starting the assembly, a special foundation was made. The assembly itself began in January 1966 and lasted for more than a year and a half, until September 1967.

Photo 5.

Construction of the foundations of the telescope and tower. April 1966

By the time of the manufacture of the mirror blank with a diameter of 6 m, the accumulated experience of processing large-sized optical blanks was small. For processing the casting of a 6-meter diameter, when it took about 25 tons of glass from the workpiece, the existing experience turned out to be unsuitable, both due to the low productivity of labor and due to the presence of the real danger of the exit of the workpiece. Therefore, when processing the workpiece with a diameter of 6 m, a decision was made to apply the diamond instrument.

Many of the telescope nodes are unique for their time, such as the main spectrograph of the telescope, having a diameter of 2 meters, a guidation system that includes a telescope and a comprehensive photo and a television system, as well as a specialized computer for managing the system

Photo 6.

Summer 1968. Delivery of the details of the telescope

BTA is a global telescope. The large light-cutting ability of the telescope makes it possible to conduct a study of the structure, physical nature and evolution of extragalactic facilities, a detailed study of the physical characteristics and chemical composition of peculiar, non-stationary and magnetic stars, the study of the processes of star formation and the evolution of stars, the study of surfaces and chemical composition atmospheres of the planets, trajectory measurements of artificial celestial Tel at large distances from the ground and much more.

With its help, numerous unique studies of outer space were conducted: the most distant galaxies observed from the ground had been studied, the mass of the local volume of the universe was evaluated, many other cosmos mysteries were rated. St. Petersburg scientist Dmitry Vesselovich with the help of BTA was looking for an answer to the question, whether fundamental constants permanent in the universe are drifting. Following the observation, he made the most important discoveries. Astronomers from all over the world are recorded in order to conduct observations with the help of the famous Russian telescope. Domestic telescopters and scientists have accumulated thanks to BTA with great experience, which allowed to open ways to new technologies for the study of the Universe.

Photo 7.

Installation of metal structures. 1968

The solving ability of the telescope in 2000 times the larger-insulating ability of the human eye, and its radius of "view" is 1.5 times higher than a similar display of the largest US telescope in Mount Palemary (8-9 billion light years against 5-6, respectively ). It is not by chance that BTA is called "Ok Planet". Its dimensions are affected by the imagination: height - 42 meters, weight - 850 tons. Thanks to the special design of the hydraulic support, the telescope seems to be "floats" on the finest oil pillow with a thickness of 0.1 mm, and a person is able to turn it around its axis without the use of equipment and additional tools.

Decree of the Government of March 25, 1960, the Lytkarinsky plant of optical glass was approved by the head performer on the development of the technological process to cast from the glass of the mirror billet with a diameter of 6 m and the manufacture of a mirror blank. Especially for this project, two new production corps were built. It was to calm the workpiece of glass weighing 70 tons, squeeze it and produce a complex treatment of all surfaces with the manufacture of 60 landing deaf holes on the back side, the central opening, etc. After three years, an experimental production workshop was created from the moment of the release of the government's decree. The task of the workshop included an installation and debugging of equipment, the development of industrial technical process and the manufacture of the mirror blank.

Photo 8.

A set of search work on the creation of optimal processing modes made it possible to develop and implement the manufacturing technology of the main mirror manufacturing technology. Processing the workpiece was carried out for almost a year and a half. For the processing of the mirror, the Kolomna plant of heavy machine-tooling in 1963 was created a special carousel machine KU-158. In parallel, a large research work was carried out on technology and control of this unique mirror. In June 1974, the mirror was ready for certification, which was successfully completed. In June 1974, the responsible stage of transporting the mirror in the observatory began. On December 30, 1975, an act of the State Interdepartmental Commission on the acceptance of a large azimuthal telescope was approved.

Photo 9.

1989 Build a 1-meter Tseys-1000 telescope

Photo 10.

Transportation of the top of the pipe of BTA. August 1970

Today there are new, more efficient astronomical systems with larger, including segmented, mirrors. But in its parameters, our telescope is still considered one of the best in the world, so it is still in high demand from domestic and foreign scientists. Over the past years, he passed a repeated modernization, improved primarily the management system. Today, it is possible to carry out observations using a fiber optic connection directly from the town of astronomers located in the valley.

Photo 11.

The Soviet optical industry of those times was not designed to solve such tasks, so the plant was specially built to create a 6-meter mirror, a plant was specially built in the Lytkarino near Moscow on the basis of a small workshop for the manufacture of mirror reflectors.

The billet for such a mirror weighs 70 tons, the first few were "false" because of the rush, so as not to crack should be cool very long. "Successful" billet has cooled 2 years and 19 days. Then, with its grinding, 15,000 carats of diamond tools and "Starto" of almost 30 tons of glass were developed. Fully finished mirror began to weigh 42 tons.

Delivery of mirrors in the Caucasus is worth a separate mention .. First, the union of the same size and weight was sent to the destination, some adjustments were made to the route - 2 new river ports were built, 4 new bridges and fortified and expanded 6 existing, several hundred kilometers were laid. New roads with perfect coating.

Mechanical details of the telescope were created on the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Plant. The total weight of the telescope was 850 tons.

Photo 12.

But despite all the efforts, "surpass" in quality (that is, by permission), the American telescope Hale BTA-6 failed. Partly due to the defects of the main mirror (the first pancake is still a com), partly due to the worst climatic conditions at its location.

Photo 13.

Installation in 1978 new, already the third on the routine of the mirror, significantly improved the situation, but the weather conditions remained the same. In addition, it complicates the work too much sensitivity of a solid mirror to minor temperature fluctuations. "Does not see" - this is of course loudly said, until 1993, BTA-6 remained the world's largest telescope, and he is still the largest in Eurasia to this day. With the new mirror, it was possible to achieve permissive ability practically, like "Hale", and "permeanting force", that is, the ability to see weak objects in BTA-6 is even more (all the same for a whole meter more diameter).

Photo 14.

Photo 15.

Photo 16.

Photo 17.

Photo 18.

For a 30-year period of operation of the telescope, its mirror was repeated several times, which led to significant damage to the surface layer, its corrosion, and, as a result, it was lost up to 70% of the reflectivity of the mirror. Nevertheless, BTA was and remains unique tools of astronomer scientists, both Russian and foreign ones. But to preserve its performance and improve efficiency, it was necessary to reconstruct and update the main mirror. Currently, the technology of formation and unloading of the mirror, which is owned by the specialists of OJSC LZOS, allows it to make it a triplete improvement of its optical characteristics, including through the angular resolution.

Photo 19.


Today, the technological process of forming the surfaces of astronomical optical parts on the Lytkarinsk plant of optical glass is derived to a new level, the quality of the deviations of the surface shape from the theoretical increased by order by automation and modernization of production and computer control. The mechanical base, and the technology of relief and unloading mirrors using modern computer equipment has been significantly improved. Machines for milling, grinding and polishing of the 6-meter mirror are also upgraded in accordance with modern requirements. Significantly improved optics controls.

The main mirror was delivered to the Lytkarinsky plant of optical glass. Currently completed the milling stage. From the working surface removed the upper layer with a thickness of about 8 mm. The mirror is transported to a thermal stabilized case and installed on an automated machine for grinding and polishing the working surface. According to the technical director, the main engineer of the enterprise S.P. Belowov, it will be the most difficult and responsible stage of the processing of the mirror, it is necessary to obtain a surface shape with much smaller deviations from the perfect paraboloid than it was achieved in the seventies. After that, the mirror of the telescope with an order of magnitude by an order of magnitude resolution and the permeable force will be able to serve Russian and world science for many more years.

Photo 20.

Among the specialists who participated in the manufacture of the mirror - Mechanic Zhikharev A.G., Optica Kaveryin MS, Panovskaya Panov, Pisarenko V. M. - They work and today, transmit a rich experience of large-sized optical instrumentation of young people. Most recently, Optic Bocmanov Optica, Mostovinger Egorov E.V. (He served as a re-milling of the mirror in the past and this year).

A similar work in Russia no longer can fulfill. In the world, except for the Lzos, there are only two firms that manufacture large-sized mirrors. This is the optical laboratory of the Steward Observatory (Arizona, USA) and the company Sagem-Reosc (France) (with a diameter of 8 m), but also there, the tower for controlling the mirrors is shorter than is required, since the radius of the Mirror of BTA is 48 meters.

B.M. Shusto, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences,
Institute of Astronomy Ran.

The bulk of the knowledge of the Universe mankind has learned using optical instruments - telescopes. Already the first telescope, invented by Galileem in 1610, made it possible to make great astronomical discoveries. The following centuries, astronomical technique continuously improved and the modern level of optical astronomy is determined by the data obtained using the tools, hundreds of times larger than the first telescopes.

The trend of creating increasingly large tools was particularly clearly shown in recent decades. Telescopes with a mirror with a diameter of 8 - 10 m are becoming common in the practice of observations. Projects 30m and even 100th telescopes are estimated as quite feasible after 10-20 years.

Why build them

The need to build such telescopes determine the tasks requiring the limit sensitivity of tools to register radiation from the weakest space objects. These tasks include:

• origin of the universe;
• mechanisms for the formation and evolution of stars, galaxies and planetary systems;
• physical properties of matter in extreme astrophysical conditions;
• astrophysical aspects of the origin and existence of life in the universe.

To get a maximum of information about an astronomical facility, a modern telescope should have the large surface of collecting optics and high efficiency of radiation receivers. Moreover, interference with observations should be minimal.

Currently, the effectiveness of receivers in the optical range, understood as the proportion of the registered quantums on the total number of those who came to the sensitive surface, is approaching the theoretical limit (100%), and further improvement paths are associated with an increase in the format of receiver, accelerating the signal processing, etc.

Interference with observations is a very serious problem. In addition to native interference (for example, cloudy, dust education in the atmosphere), the existence of optical astronomy as observational science is an increasing illumination from settlements, industrial centers, communications, technogenic pollution of the atmosphere. Modern observatory build naturally in places with a favorable astroclimate. There are very few such places on the globe, no more than a dozen. Unfortunately, there are no places with very good astroclimat in Russia.

The only perspective direction of the development of highly efficient astronomical techniques remains an increase in the size of collecting tools.

The largest telescopes: experience in creating and use

In the last decade, the world has been implemented or in the process of developing and creating more than a dozen projects of large telescopes. Some projects provide for the construction of several telescopes with a mirror with a size of at least 8 m. The value of the tool is determined primarily in the size of the optics. The centuries of practical experience in the telescope led to a simple method of comparative assessment of the value of the telescope S with a mirror diameter D (remind you that all tools with the diameter of the main mirror are more than 1 m - reflector telescopes). For telescopes with a solid main mirror, as a rule S is proportional to D 3. Analyzing the table, it can be noted that this is a classic ratio for the largest tools is broken. Such telescopes are cheaper and for them S is proportional to D a, where a does not exceed 2.

It is an amazing reduction in value and makes it possible to consider the projects of supergigant telescopes with a diameter of a mirror in tens and even a hundred meters not as fantasy, but as well-real in the near future projects. We will tell about several of the most economical projects. One of them, SALT, is put into operation in 2005, the construction of the Giant Telescopes of the 30-meter Class ELT and 100-meter - OWL has not yet begun, but maybe they will appear in 10-20 years.

TELESCOPE	Mirror diameter, M.	Parameters of the main mirror	Place of installation of telescope	Project participants	Project cost, million $ USD	First light
Kecki. KECK II.		parabolic multi-precision active	Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA	USA
VLT. (Four telescope)		thin Active	Paranal, Chile	ESO, cooperation of nine countries in Europe
Gemini North. Gemini South		thin Active	Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA Cerro Pachon, Chile	USA (25%), England (25%), Canada (15%), Chile (5%), Argentina (2.5%), Brazil (2.5%)
Subaru.		thin Active	Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA	Japan
LBT (binocular)		cellular Tolstoy	Mt. Graham, Arizona, USA	USA, Italy
HOT (Hobby & Eberly)	11 (real 9.5)	spherical Many-segmented	Mt. Fowlkes, Texac, USA	USA, Germany
MMT.		cellular Tolstoy	Mt. Hopkins, Arizona, USA	USA
Magellan. Two telescopes		cellular Tolstoy	Las Capanas, Chile	USA
BTA Sao Ran.		tolstoy	Mount Pastukhov, Karachay-Cherkessia	Russia
GTC.		analog KECK II.	La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain	Spain 51%
Salt.		no analogue	Sutherland, South Africa	South Africa Republic
ELT.	35 (real 28)	no analogue		USA	150-200 Avantproekt
Owl.		spherical multi-seed change		Germany, Sweden, Denmark, etc.	About 1000 Avantproekt

Big South African Salt Telescope

In the 1970s. The main Observatory South Africa was merged into the South African Astronomical Observatory. Headquarters is located in Cape Town. The main tools are four telescope (1.9-m, 1.0-m, 0.75-m and 0.5-m) - located 370 km from the city in the depths of the country, on a hill, towering on a dry plateau of Cara ( Karoo.).

South African Astronomical Observatory.
Tower of a large South African telescope
Showing in the context. There are three main things in front of it.
acting telescope. (1.9m, 1.0 m and 0.75m).

In 1948, the 1.9th telescope was built in South Africa, it was the largest tool in the southern hemisphere. In the 90s. The last century scientific circles and the Government of South Africa decided that South African Astronomy could not be competitive in the 21st century without a modern large telescope. Initially, the 4th telescope similar to ESO NTT (New Technology Telescope is a new technology telescope) or more modern, Wiyn, on the Kitt-Peak Observatory. However, in the end, the concept of a large telescope is chosen - an analogue of the Hobby Eberly Telescope installed on the Observatory (HOBBY-EBERLY TELESCOPE - HET). The project was called - Big South African Telescope, in original - SOUTHERN AFRICAN LARGE TELESCOPE (Salt.).

The cost of the project for the telescope of this class is quite low - only 20 million US dollars. Moreover, the cost of the telescope itself is only half of this amount, the rest is the cost of the tower and infrastructure. Another 10 million dollars, according to the modern assessment, will cost the maintenance of the instrument for 10 years. Such a low cost is due to the simplified design, and the fact that it is created as analogue already developed.

SALT (respectively and HET) differ radically from previous projects of large optical (infrared) telescopes. The optical axis of SALT is installed at a fixed angle of 35 ° to an anti-aircraft direction, and the telescope is able to rotate in azimuth for a full circle. During the observation session, the tool remains stationary, and the tracking system located in its upper part ensures support of the object on the section 12 ° in a circle of heights. Thus, the telescope allows you to observe objects in a ring of 12 ° width in the sky area, separated from the zenith by 29 - 41 °. The angle between the axis of the telescope and the anti-aircraft direction can be changed (no more than once every few years), studying different areas of the sky.

The diameter of the main mirror is 11 m. However, its maximum area used to build images or spectroscopy corresponds to the 9.2rd mirror. It consists of 91 hexagonal segments, each diameter of 1 m. All segments have a spherical surface, which sharply reduces their production. By the way, the billets of the segments are made on the Lytkarinsky plant of optical glass, the primary treatment was performed there, the final polishing is carried out (at the time of writing the article is not over) the company Codak. Gregory Corrector Removing Spherical Aberration, effective in 4? Light can be transmitted to spectrographs of various permits in thermostatic rooms by optical fibers. It is also possible to install a lightweight tool in direct focus.

The Hobby Eberley telescope, which means and SALT, are designed essentially as spectroscopic wavelength tools in the range of 0.35-2.0 microns. Salt is most competitive from a scientific point of view when observing astronomical objects that are evenly distributed over the sky or in groups of several angular minutes. Since the work of the telescope will be carried out in batch mode ( queue-Scheduled.), Especially effective framework for variability during the day and more. The range of tasks for such a telescope is very wide: studies of the chemical composition and evolution of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, the study of objects with a large red displacement, gas evolution in galaxies, gas kinematics, stars and planetary nebulaes in remote galaxies, searching and studying optical objects identified with X-ray sources. Salt telescope is located on top, where Telescopes of the South African Observatory are already located, approximately 18 km east of the village of Sutherland ( SUTHERLAND.) At an altitude of 1758 m. Its coordinates - 20 ° 49 "Eastern longitude and 32 ° 23" South latitude. The construction of the tower and infrastructure has already been completed. The road car from Cape Town takes approximately 4 hours. Sutherland is located far from all major cities, so there is a very clear and dark sky. Statistical studies of the results of preliminary observations, which were conducted for more than 10 years, show that the proportion of photometric nights exceeds 50%, and spectroscopic is an average of 75%. Since this large telescope is primarily optimized for spectroscopy, 75% is a completely acceptable indicator.

The average atmospheric quality of the image measured by the differential monitor of the image movement (DIMM) was 0.9 ". This system is located slightly above 1 m above the soil level. Note that the optical image quality is SALT-0.6. This is enough for work on spectroscopy.

Extremely large ELT and GSMT telescope projects

In the United States, Canada and Sweden, several projects of the 7th grade telescopes are developed at once - ELT, Maxat, Celt, and others. Such projects of at least six. In my opinion, the most advanced of them are American projects ELT and GSMT.

Project ELT. (Extremely Large Telescope - Extremely large telescope) - a larger copy of the HET telescope (and SALT) will have the diameter of the input pupil of 28 m with the diameter of the mirror 35 m. The telescope will reach the permeability of the permeability of an order of magnitude higher than that of modern telescopes of the 10th grade. The total cost of the project is estimated at about $ 100 million. It is being developed at the University of Texas (Austin), where experience has already been accumulated on creating a HET telescope, the University of Pennsylvania and the Observatory Mac-Donald. This is the most real project for exercising no later than the middle of the next decade.

Project GSMT. (Giant Segmented Mirror Telescope - Giant Segmented Mirror Telescope) You can consider to some extent with the Maximum Aperture TeleScope and CELT (California Extreme Lerge Telescope) unifying projects. A competitive way to develop and design such expensive tools is extremely useful and used in world practice. The final decision on GSMT has not yet been accepted.

The GSMT telescope is significantly more perfect than the ELT, and its cost will be about $ 700 million. It is much higher than that of ELT, due to the introduction aspheric the main mirror and the planned full-reeling

Stunningly large OWL telescope

The ambitious project of the beginning of the XXI century. - This is, of course, the project Owl. (Overwhelmingly Large Telescope - A stunningly large telescope). OWL is designed by the European Southern Observatory as an alt-azimuthal telescope with a segmented spherical main mirror and flat secondary. To correct the spherical aberration, a 4-element proofreader with a diameter of about 8 m is introduced. When creating OWL, already developed in modern technology projects are used: active optics (like on NTT, VLT, Subaru, Gemini telescopes), which allows you to get an image of optimal quality; Segmentation of the main mirror (both on KECK, HET, GTC, SALT), low cost designs (both on Het and Salt) and multistage adaptive optics are being developed ( "Earth and Universe", 2004, № 1).

A stunningly large telescope (OWL) is designed by the European Southern Observatory. Its main characteristics: The diameter of the input pupil is 100 m, the area of \u200b\u200bthe collecting surface is over 6000 square meters. m, a multi-stage adaptive optics system, diffraction image quality for the visible spectrum section - in the field 30 ", for the near infrared - in field 2"; The field limited by the quality of the image allowed by the atmosphere (Seeing), - 10 "; relative opening F / 8; a working spectral range - 0.32-2 μm. The telescope will weigh 12.5 thousand tons.

It should be noted that this telescope will have a huge working field (hundreds of billions of ordinary pixels!). How many powerful receivers can be placed on this telescope!

The concept of gradual entry OWL is adopted. It is proposed to start using a telescope for another 3 years before filling the main mirror. It is planned to fill out 60 m aperture by 2012 (if funding opens in 2006). The project cost is not more than 1 billion euros (the last estimate of 905 million euros).

Russian perspectives

About 30 years ago, the 6th telescope was built and commissioned in the USSR BTA (Great azimuth telescope). For many years he remained the largest in the world and, naturally, was the pride of domestic science. BTA has demonstrated a number of original technical solutions (for example, an alt-azimuth installation with computer maintenance) that subsequently become a global technical standard. BTA is still a powerful tool (especially for spectroscopic studies), but at the beginning of the XXI century. He was already only in the second ten major telescopes in the world. In addition, the gradual degradation of the mirror (now its quality has deteriorated by 30% compared with the initial) displays it from among the effective tools.

With the collapse of the USSR BTA remained almost the only major tool available to Russian researchers. All observational bases with mild telescopes in the Caucasus and in Central Asia significantly lost their significance as regular observatory by virtue of a number of geopolitical and economic reasons. Now work has been started on the restoration of connections and structures, but the historical prospects of this process are foggy, and in any case it will take many years only for partial recovery of lost.

Of course, the development of a large telescope fleet in the world provides the opportunity to Russian observers to work in the so-called guest mode. The choice of such a passive path consistently meant that Russian astronomy would always play only secondary (dependent) roles, and the lack of a base for domestic technological developments will lead to the deepening of the backlog, and not only in astronomy. The exit is obvious - the root modernization of BTA, as well as a full participation in international projects.

The cost of large astronomical instruments is usually calculated with tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars. Such projects, with the exception of several national projects carried out by the richest countries of the world, can be implemented only on the basis of international cooperation.

The possibilities of cooperation in the construction of telescopes of the 10th grade appeared at the end of the last century, but the lack of funding, or rather state interest in the development of domestic science, led to the fact that they were lost. A few years ago, Russia received an offer to become a partner in the construction of a large astrophysical instrument - the Greater Canary Telescope (GTC) and even more financially attractive Salt project. Unfortunately, these telescopes are being built without the participation of Russia.

Thanks to the telescopes, scientists made amazing discoveries: they found a huge number of planets outside the solar system, learned about the existence of black holes in the centers of galaxies. But the universe is so huge that it is only a grain of knowledge. Here are ten existing and future giants among land telescopes that give scientists the opportunity to study the past universe and recognize new facts. Perhaps, with the help of one of them, it will even be possible to detect the ninth planet.

Largesouth Africantelescope (SALT)

This 9.2-meter telescope is the largest ground optical device in the southern hemisphere. It has been functioning since 2005 and is concentrated on spectroscopic surveys (registers spectra of various types of radiation). The device can view about 70% of the sky observed in Saterland, South Africa.

KECK I and II Telescopes

Double 10-meter telescopes in the bracket observatory are in second place in size among optical instruments on Earth. They are located near the top of Mauna Kea Mountain in Hawaii. Keck. I. Began operated in 1993. A few years later, in 1996, was launched KECK II.. In 2004, the first adaptive optics system with a laser guide star was deployed on the combined telescopes. It creates an artificial star stain as a reference point for the correction of atmospheric distortions when viewing the sky.

Photo: Ctrl.info.

Large Canary Telescope (GTC)

The 10,4-meter telescope is located at the peak of the extinct volcano Mucachechos on the Canary Island of Palma. It is known as an optical device with the largest mirror in the world. It consists of 36 hexagonal segments. GTC has several auxiliary tools. For example, a Canaricam camera that can explore the infrared light of the middle range emitted by stars and planets. Canaricam also has a unique ability to block bright star light and make weak planets on photographs more noticeable.

Photo: Astro.ufl

Radio telescope Observatory Areshibibo

This is one of the most recognizable ground telescope in the world. It has been functioning since 1963 and is a huge 30-meter radio radiopling plate next to the city of Arecibo in Puerto Rico. A huge reflector makes a telescope particularly sensitive. It is able to detect a weak radio source (distant quasars and galaxies that radiate radio waves) in just a few minutes of observation.

Photo: PhysicSworld

Complex of radio telescope Alma.

One of the largest terrestrial astronomical instruments is represented in the form of 66 12-meter radiance. The complex is located at an altitude of 5000 meters in the Atakama desert in Chile. The first scientific studies were held in 2011. The ALMA radio telescope has one important purpose. With their help, astronomers want to explore the processes that occurred throughout the first hundred millions of years after a large explosion.

Photo: Wikipedia

Up to this point, we talked about existing telescopes. But now many new ones are built. Very soon they will begin to function and significantly expand the possibilities of science.

Lsst.

This is a wide-angle reflector telescope, which will shoot a specific sky area every few nights. It will be located in Chile, on the top of the mountain gray-pass. While the project is only in development. The full functioning of the telescope is planned by 2022. Nevertheless, he already places high hopes. Astronomers expect that LSST will give them the best idea of \u200b\u200bthe celestial bodies located on a large distance from the sun. Also, scientists suggest that this telescope will be able to notice space stones, which theoretically be faced with the Earth in the future.

Photo: lsst.

Giant Magellan Telescope

The telescope whose construction is planned to be completed by 2022 will be in the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Scientists believe that the telescope is four times the ability to collect light compared to the currently existing optical instruments. With its help, astronomers will be able to open exoplanets (planets outside the solar system) and study the properties of dark matter.

Photo: Wikipedia

Thirty meter telescope

The thirty-meter telescope will be located in Hawaii, next to the bracket observatory. It is planned that it will be operated in 2025-2030. The diaphragm of the device is able to provide a resolution 12 times higher than that of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Photo: Wikipedia

Radio telescope SKA.

SKA antennas will be placed in South Africa and Australia. Now the project is still at the construction stage. But the first observations are scheduled for 2020. SKA sensitivity will be 50 times higher than the sensitivity of any ever created radio telescope. With its help, astronomers will be able to explore signals from a newer universe - time when the first stars and galaxies occurred.

Photo: Wikipedia

Extremely large telescope (ELT)

The telescope will be located on Mount Cerro Amazone in Chile. It is planned that it will start working only in 2025. Nevertheless, it has already become famous for a huge mirror, which will consist of 798 hexagonal segments with a diameter of 1.4 meters each. The technical characteristics of ELT will allow it to study the composition of the atmosphere of the extranerect planets.

Photo: Wikipedia

The first telescopes with a diameter of a little more than 20 mm and a modest increase in less than 10X, which appeared at the beginning of the XVII century, made a real revolution in knowledge of the space around us. Today, astronomers are preparing to put in line with gigantic optical instruments with a diameter of thousands of times more.

On May 26, 2015, it became a real holiday for astronomers of the whole world. On this day, Hawaii State Governor David Gamed allowed to start a zero construction cycle near the top of the extinct volcano Mauna Kea giant instrument complex, which in a few years will become one of the largest optical telescopes in the world.

The three largest telescope of the first half of the XXI century will use different optical schemes. TMT is built according to the Richie-cholein scheme with a concave main mirror and convex secondary (both hyperbolic). E-ELT has a concave main mirror (elliptic) and convex secondary (hyperbolic). GMT uses the optical scheme of Gregory with concave mirrors: the main (parabolic) and secondary (elliptical).

Giants in the arena

The new telescope was called the Thirty Meter Telescope, TMT (Thirty Meter Telescope, TMT), since its aperture (diameter) will be 30 m. If everything goes according to plan, TMT will see the first light in 2022, and regular observations will begin. The construction will be really gigid - high 56 and 66 m wide. The main mirror will be made up of 492 hexagonal segments with a total area of \u200b\u200b664 m². According to this indicator, TMT 80% will surpass the Giant Magellan Telescope, GMT with aperture of 24.5 m, which in 2021 will enter into account in the Chilean Observatory of Las Campanas owned by the Carnegie Institute.

The TMT thirty-meter telescope is built according to the Richie-Corene scheme, which is used in many currently acting large telescopes, including in the largest Gran Telescopio Canarias with the main mirror with a diameter of 10.4 m. At the first stage, TMT will be equipped with three IR and Optical spectrometers, and in the future it is planned to add several other scientific instruments to them.

However, the world champion of TMT will watch long. For 2024, the opening of an extremely large European telescope, E-ELT with a record diameter of 39.3 m is planned (European Extreme Large Telescope, which will become the flagship instrument of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). His structure has already begun on a three-kilometer height on Mount Serro Armazeses in the Chilean Atacama Desert. The main mirror of this giant, composed of 798 segments, will collect light from an area of \u200b\u200b978 m².

This magnificent triad will compile a group of optical supremacy of a new generation, whose long will not be competitors.

Anatomy SuperTellescopes

The TMT optical scheme goes back to the system that a hundred years ago independently offered American astronomer George Willis Richie and Frenchman Henri Kretien. It is based on a combination of the main concave mirror and the coaxial with it of the convex mirror of a smaller diameter, and both of them have the form of a rotation hyperboloid. Rays reflected from the secondary mirror are directed to the hole in the center of the main reflector and focus behind it. Using the second mirror in this position makes a telescope more compact and increases its focal length. This design is implemented in many active telescopes, in particular in the largest Gran Telescopio Canarias at the current moment with the main mirror with a diameter of 10.4 m, in ten meter twin telescopes of the Hawaiian Observatory and in the four-meter 8.2-meter telescopes of the Serro-Paranal Observatory, owned by ESO.

The E-ELT optical system also contains a concave main mirror and convex secondary, but it has a number of unique features. It consists of five mirrors, and the main thing of them is not a hyperboloid, like TMT, but an ellipsoid.

GMT is completely constructed. Its main mirror consists of seven identical monolithic mirrors with a diameter of 8.4 m (six make up the ring, the seventh is in the center). The secondary mirror is not a convex hyperboloid, as in the Richie-cholein scheme, and a concave ellipsoid located in front of the focus of the main mirror. In the middle of the XVII century, the Scottish mathematician James Gregory was proposed such a configuration, and in practice, I first embodied Robert Guk in 1673. Gregorian scheme built a large binocular telescope (Large Binocular Telescope, LBT) in the International Observatory on Mount Graham in Arizona (both of his "eyes" are equipped with the same main mirrors, as well as GMT mirrors) and two identical magtellane telescope with aperture 6.5 M, which since the early 2000s work in the Las Campanas Observatory.

Power - in devices

Any telescope in itself is just a very large visual tube. To transform into an astronomical observatory, it must be provided with highly sensitive spectrographs and video cameras.

TMT, which is designed for service life more than 50 years, first will be equipped with three measuring instruments mounted on a common platform - IRIS, IRMS and WFOS. IRIS (Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) is a complex of a very high resolution camcorder that provides an overview in a field of 34 x 34 of the angular seconds and a spectrometer of infrared radiation. IRMS is a multi-rolled infrared spectrometer, and the WFOS is a wide-angle spectrometer, which can simultaneously monitor up to 200 objects on an area of \u200b\u200bat least 25 square angular minutes. In the design of the telescope, a flat-swivel mirror is provided, the guide light on the apparatus needs at the moment, and it takes less than ten minutes to switch. In the future, the telescope is equipped with four more spectrometers and the camera to observe exoplanet. According to the current plans, each two and a half years will be added to one additional complex. GMT and E-ELT will also have an extremely rich dashboard.

The supergigant E-ELT will become the largest telescope in the world with the main mirror with a diameter of 39.3 m. It will be equipped with a super-modern adaptive optics system (AO) with three deformable mirrors capable of eliminating distortions arising at various heights and wave front sensors for light analysis From three natural support stars and four-six artificial (generated in the atmosphere with lasers). Due to this system, the resolution of the telescope in the near infrared zone at the optimal state of the atmosphere will reach six angular milliseconds and close to the diffraction limit caused by the wave nature of the light.

European giant

Super Saucecopes of the next decade will cost Neszayevo. The exact amount is still unknown, but it is already clear that their total cost will exceed $ 3 billion. What do these gigantic tools give science about the universe?

"E-ELT will be used for astronomical observations of a wide variety of scales - from the solar system to a supervalted space. And on each scale scale, it is expected exclusively rich information from it, a significant part of which other Super Supports, "Popular Mechanics" said a member of the scientific team of the European Giant Johan Lisk, who deals with extragalactic astronomy and observation cosmology. - There are two reasons for this: first, E-ELT will be able to collect much more light compared to its competitors, and secondly, its resolution will be much higher. Take, say, extraction planets. Their list is growing rapidly, by the end of the first half of this year it contained about 2000 titles. Now the main task is not to multiply the number of open exoplanets, but assessing specific data on their nature. This is what will be engaged in E-ELT. In particular, its spectroscopic equipment will allow to study the atmosphere of stone land-like planets with full and accuracy completely inaccessible for the currently active telescopes. This research program provides for the search for water vapors, oxygen and organic molecules, which can be the products of the life of the world's organisms. There is no doubt that E-ELT will increase the number of applicants for the role of exoplanets inhabited.

The new telescope promises other breakthroughs in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. As you know, there are considerable grounds for the assumption that the Universe has been expanding several billion years with acceleration due to dark energy. The magnitude of this acceleration can be determined by changes in the dynamics of the red bias of the distant galaxies. According to current estimates, this shift corresponds to 10 cm / s over a decade. This value is extremely small for measuring with the help of currently active telescopes, but for E-ELT such a task is completely forces. Its super-sensitive spectrographs will also allow more reliable data to answer the question, whether fundamental physical constants are constant or they change over time.

E-ELT promises a genuine revolution in extragalactic astronomy, which is engaged in objects located outside the Milky Way. The current telescopes make it possible to observe individual stars in the nearest galaxies, but they will graze on large distances. The European Super Support will provide the opportunity to see the brightest stars in the galaxies remote from the Sun to millions and tens of millions of light years. On the other hand, it will be able to take the light and from the earliest galaxies that almost nothing else is known. He will also be able to watch the stars near the supermassive black hole in the center of our Galaxy - not only to measure their speeds with an accuracy of 1 km / s, but also to open the unknown stars in the immediate vicinity of the hole, where their orbital speeds are approaching 10% of the speed of light . And this, as Johan Lisk says, is far from a complete list of the unique capabilities of the telescope.

Magellan Telescope

Constructs the Giant Magellan Telescope International Consortium, which unites more than a dozen of various universities and research institutes of the United States, Australia and South Korea. As the "PM" professor of Astronomy of Arizona University and Deputy Director of the Stuartovskaya Observatory Dennis Zarritsky, Gregorian Optics were chosen for the reason that it improves the quality of images in a wide field of view. Such an optical scheme in recent years has proven itself well on several optical telescopes of the 6-8 meter range, and even earlier it was used on large radio telescopes.

Despite the fact that in diameter and, accordingly, the GMT light-cutting surface area is inferior to TMT and E-ELT, it has a lot of serious advantages. Its equipment will be able to simultaneously measure the spectra of a large number of objects, which is extremely important for overview observations. In addition, GMT optics provide very high contrast and the opportunity to get far into the infrared range. The diameter of its field of view, as well as at TMT, will be 20 angular minutes.

According to Professor Zarritski, GMT will take a worthy place in the Triad of the future super superlasts. For example, it will be possible to receive information about dark matter - the main component of many galaxies. About its distribution in space can be judged by the movement of stars. However, most galaxies, where it dominates, contain relatively little stars, besides rather dull. The GMT equipment will be able to track movements much more than these stars than the devices of any of the currently active telescopes. Therefore, GMT will make it possible to more accurately make a card of dark matter, and this, in turn, will give the opportunity to choose the most believable model of its particles. Such a prospect is of particular value, if we consider that so far the dark matter has not been able to detect by passive detection, nor get on the accelerator. Other research programs will also be performed on GMT: search for exoplanets, including terrestrial planets, observation of the most ancient galaxies and the study of the interstellar substance.

On earth and in heaven

In October 2018, it is planned to withdraw the James WebB (JWST) telescope. It will work only in the orange and red zones of the visible spectrum, but it will be able to observe almost in almost the entire average infrared range up to waves with a length of 28 microns (infrared rays with wavelengths over 20 microns are almost completely absorbed in the lower layer of the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and water molecules So the ground telescopes do not notice them). Since it will be protected from thermal interference of the earth's atmosphere, its spectrometric devices will be much more sensitive than terrestrial spectrographs. However, the diameter of its main mirror is 6.5 m, and therefore, thanks to adaptive optics, the angular resolution of ground telescopes will be several times higher. So, according to Michael Bolt, observations on JWST and on terrestrial sustaines will perfectly complement each other. As for the prospects of the 100-meter telescope, the professor of the bolt is very careful in estimates: "In my opinion, in the next 20-25 years it simply will simply be able to create an adaptive optics systems that can effectively work in a pair with a stereome mirror. Perhaps this will happen somewhere after forty, in the second half of the century. "

Hawaiian project

"TMT is the only one of three future supeltyles, the place for which is chosen in the northern hemisphere, says a member of the Board of Directors of the Hawaiian Project, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of California in Santa Cruz Michael Bolt. - However, it will be mounted not very far from the equator, at the 19th degree of northern latitude. Therefore, he, like other telescopes of the Mauna-Kea Observatory, will be able to view the sky of both hemispheres, especially since this observatory is one of the best places on the planet. In addition, TMT will work in a bundle with a group located next to telescope: two 10 meter twins Keck I and Keck II (which can be considered TMT prototypes), as well as 8-meter Subaru and Gemini-North. The Richie-Corene system is not at all accidentally involved in the design of many large telescopes. It provides a good field of view and protects very effectively from spherical, and on comatic aberration, distorting images of objects that are not lying on the optical axis of the telescope. In addition, TMT is planned truly magnificent adaptive optics. It is clear that astronomers are expecting a full basis that the observations on TMT will bring a lot of wonderful discoveries. "

According to Professor Bolt, and TMT, and other supertelloles will contribute to the progress of astronomy and astrophysics, primarily the fact that once again will move the boundaries of the well-known science of the universe and in space, and in time. Another 35-40 years ago, the observed space was mainly limited to objects not over 6 billion years. Now it is possible to reliably observe the galaxies of about 13 billion years old, whose light was emitted 700 million years after a large explosion. There are candidates for galaxy with age 13.4 billion, but this is not yet confirmed. It can be expected that TMT devices will be able to register light sources of light only a little less (by 100 million years) the most universe itself.

TMT will provide astronomy and many other features. The results that will be obtained on it will refine the dynamics of the chemical evolution of the universe, it is better to understand the processes of formation of stars and planets, deepen knowledge about the structure of our galaxy and its closest neighbors and, in particular, about galactic halo. But the main thing is that TMT, as well as GMT and E-ELT, most likely, will allow researchers to answer questions of fundamental importance that can not only formulate correctly, but even imagine. In this, according to Michael Bolt, and consists of the main value of the Super projects.

Like many concepts in our world, the word "telescope" came to us from the ancient Greek language, and literally means "looking far away." And indeed, these optical devices are designed to observe remote objects in the distant spaces of space.

The first simple telescopes appeared at the beginning of the XVII century, and today these complex optical devices are divided into four main species. Consider the largest of them, and learn what the largest telescope in the world, capable of penetrating into the most abyss of the universe.

A large-scale project financed by the United States is implemented in Chile, at the peak of the Mountain Gray-Pachen. The reflex, optical telescope with a 8.4 meter mirror diameter will take pictures of the night sky every three nights.

Presumably he will begin a full-fledged work in 2022, although the first tests scientists plan to begin at the beginning of 2020. The uniqueness of the design is that instead of two mirrors, the LSST has three, which significantly increases its capabilities.

Scientists impose on a unique project huge reliable, believing that it will help to solve many secrets stored in distant space.

The name itself indicates that the telescope is located in South Africa. It is built at an altitude of 1798 meters above sea level and is used by the South African Astronomical Observatory.

This is the largest telescope that is south of the Ecquator of the Earth, and observes this optical giant for astronomical objects that are not available for observations from the northern hemisphere.

Salt has a mirror with a size of 11 × 9.8 meters, and the first images of the optical apparatus did in 2005, and they struck astronomers with a large resolution, where it was possible to clearly see individual details.

Two equivalent to the possibilities and technical characteristics of the telescope, with a diameter of mirrors 10 meters, operate in the bracket observatory, which is located on American Hawaii.

They were commissioned in 1994 and 1996, and most importantly they work in a pair, in the interferometer mode. Due to this, angular permits of high accuracy are obtained, which made it possible to open and explore exoplanets.

It is believed that the bracket observatory is located in the most favorable to observe the heavenly objects of astroclimate, therefore it is one of the most effective observatories on the globe.

The reflector telescope, operated since 2009, has the largest mirror today, the diameter of which is 10.4 meters. Even Spanish monarch was present on the opening of a unique observatory on the island of La Palma.

Located an observatory on Mucachechos at an altitude of almost 2400 meters above sea level. The location and specifications of GTC allow you to monitor the most remote space objects.

Most of the project financing, and this is 130 million euros, it took on Spain, also in the share of Mexico and the American University of Florida.

Puerto Rico at a relatively small height of 497 meters there is a reflector and a radioskop with a mirror diameter of 304.8 meters. Officially, he began his work in 1963, and from the beginning of the 90s, it was used in the search for extraterrestrial civilizations.

The unique form of the Telescope Observatory Arecibo make it one of the most recognizable in the world. In addition, he lit up several times in Hollywood blockbusters.

Despite its respectable age, with its help multiple discoveries made, which allowed the nature of the universe and the interaction of space objects more fully.

This is a whole complex of unique radio telescope, located among the impressive, almost cosmic, landscapes of Atakam's desert in Chile.

A astronomical complex of 66 powerful telescopes with a diameter of mirrors 7 and 12 meters is consisting. Among their relatives, the Chilean Device for Space Observation is the most expensive.

The main purpose of Alma Observation and study of the processes occurring in the first millions of years after a large explosion. It is with this data that scientists hope to fully restore evolutionary processes in the universe.

This major telescope began to be designed in 2012, and it is planned to place it in the Las Campanas Observatory, at an altitude of 2,500 meters above the ocean.

The mirror complex forms a total diameter of 25 meters and will make it possible to obtain quite clear pictures of the most remote objects. In one of the tasks, GTM will include observation of unique space objects, as well as dark matter and the study of the evolution of the first galaxies.

Builders and scientists plan to launch a project in 2020, when the first four mirrors will be prepared and installed.

Fast.

In Guizhou, in the south of China, in 2016, the largest radio telescope of the filled aperture was put into operation, the diameter of which is 500 meters.

Such a device will help solve many scientific tasks, observe black holes, explore early periods of the evolution of the universe. A number of constructive features will expand the review, and the information is obtained and transmitted 9 radio receivers.

A good project was quite expensive, and costs China at $ 185 million. But astronomers note that scientific discoveries will be invaluable for all mankind.

This is not one, but consisting of eight telescopes Astronomical complex in an attack. On the total area of \u200b\u200bthe mirrors, the Chilean apparatus is the largest in the world.

This European project began work in 1998, and the devices were created specifically for the Pranal Observatory. Thanks to new technologies, the VLT can operate in three modes, and specifications allow you to obtain clear and detailed snapshots of space objects.

Interestingly, one of the first telescopes were called at the local dialect of Chile's residents in honor of the God of the Sun - Antu, and the remaining three, in honor of the Moon, Venus and Constellation South Cross - Queen, Yupun and Melipal.

At the top of the Chilean Mountain Serro Armazesides (3060 m.), Place a powerful telescope in the world in 2024, the diameter of the mirror of which will be 39.3 meters.

The mirror that will be collected from 798 separate segments will allow the device to collect 15 times more light than all the current vehicles of this type of world. Modern technologies used in the implementation of the project will also allow detail pictures and see previously inaccessible sections of space.

In 2015, there was a solemn laying of the stone where the observatory will work. To do this, they specifically blew the top of the rock to align the platform for construction.

Space telescope "Hubble"

Under the code name "250", the automatic space observatory has been rotating on earthly orbit for 27 years. An optical device installed at the station, named after Astronoma Edwina Hubble, today is the most powerful telescope in history.

The Joint NASA and European Space Laboratory project began its work in 1990. Due to the fact that the atmosphere does not create interference, it turns out the best space pictures than from earthly apparatus.

Scientists have been planned to replace "Hubble" for many years, but due to the difficulties in the implementation of the new project, in 2016 the program extended for another 5 years.

Complete overview by the Russian optical device, which is today the largest telescope in Russia, and in general in Europe. BTA abbreviation is deciphered as a "big azimuth" telescope, "and is located in the North Caucasus in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic.

The diameter of the mirror of the Russian giant is 6.05 meters, and the total mass is 850 tons. We also note that BTA record holder in the size of the dome and the diameter of the whole mirror.

With the help of the device, a variety of discoveries have been made, which have made it possible to form together the scattered hypotheses on the interaction and evolution of galaxies.

So we learned with the help of which devices can be viewed on space objects "armed glance", and solve the mysterious riddles of remote galaxies.

Large telescopes have become real assistants to humanity in the knowledge of the Universe, allowing you to look into the hidden corners of the space, where the scientific thought is not able to move.

To restore justice, that the Russian project "Spectrum" works in the Earth's orbit, except American. At the modular station installed a powerful space radio telescope - CTR.