Everything about Pulkovo Observatory totally explained
The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory, the principal
astronomical observatory of the
Russian Academy of Sciences, located 19
km south of
Saint Petersburg on
Pulkovo Heights (75
m above sea level). It is a
World Heritage Site.
The observatory was opened in
1839. Originally, it was a brainchild of the German/Russian
astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, who would become its first director
(in
1861, his son
Otto Wilhelm von Struve succeeded him). The architect was
Alexander Bryullov. The observatory was equipped with the state-of-the-art
devices, one of them being the biggest 38-
cm refractor in the world. The principal line of work of the observatory consisted of determination of
coordinates of
stars and astronomical
constants, such as
precessions,
nutations,
aberrations and
refractions, and also discovering and measuring
double stars. Observatory’s activities have also been connected to the
geographical study of the territory of
Russia and development of
navigation. The
star catalogues, containing the most precise positions of 374, and then 558 stars, were made for the years
1845,
1865,
1885,
1905 and
1930.
By the 50th anniversary of the Observatory, they'd built an
astrophysical laboratory with a mechanical workshop and installed the world’s largest 76-cm refractor. Astrophysical research really gained momentum with the appointment of
Feodor Bredikhin as a director of the Observatory in
1890 and transfer of
Aristarkh Belopolsky from the
Moscow Observatory, an expert in
stellar spectroscopy and
solar research. In
1923, they installed a big
Littrow spectrograph, and in
1940 - a horizontal solar
telescope, manufactured at a
Leningrad factory. After having received an
astrograph in
1894, the observatory began its work on
astrophotography. In
1927, the Observatory received a zone astrograph and with its help the Russian
astronomers catalogued the stars of the near-
polar areas of the sky. Regular observation of movements of
celestial poles began with the construction of the
zenith telescope in
1904. In
1920, the Observatory started transmitting the exact time by radio signals. The observatory participated in the basic
geodesic work, namely in measuring
degrees of the
arc of the
meridian from the
Danube to the
Arctic Ocean (until
1851), and in
triangulation of
Spitsbergen in
1899-
1901. Military
geodesists and
hydrographers used to work at the Observatory as interns. The Pulkovo Meridian, which passes through the center of the main building of the Observatory and is located at 30°19,6‘ east of
Greenwich, was the point of departure for all former geographical maps of Russia.
In order to observe the southern stars that couldn't be seen on the observatory’s
latitude, the scientists organized 2
affiliates. One of them was an
astrophysical station in the
Crimean town of
Simeiz (
Simeiz Observatory), which had been organized on the basis of a private observatory presented to the Pulkovo Observatory by an astronomy lover N.S.Maltsev in
1908. The other affiliate of the Pulkovo Observatory was an
astrometric station in
Nikolaev - a former observatory of the
Department of the Navy (today’s
Nikolaev Astronomical Observatory).
Later history
The observatory staff was very badly affected by the
Great Purge and many Pulkovo astronomers, including the director
Boris Gerasimovich, were arrested and executed in the late
1930s.
During the
siege of Leningrad (1941-1944), the Observatory became the target of fierce
German air raids and
artillery bombardment. All of the buildings were completely destroyed. Under dramatic conditions the main
instruments were saved and stored safely in
Leningrad, including the world's biggest
telescope, as well as a significant part of the unique library with scripts and important works from the 15th to 19th Century. On
February 5,
1997, nearly 1,500 of the 3,852 books were destroyed by malicious
arson and the rest of the library items were damaged by flames, smoke or water damage.
Even before the end of the war, the Soviet
government made a decision to restore the Observatory. In
1946, they began the construction after having cleared the territory. In May of
1954, the Observatory was re-opened, which hadn't only been restored but considerably expanded in terms of instruments,
employees and research subjects. They created new departments, such as the Department of
Radio Astronomy and Department of Instrument Making (with its own
optical and mechanical workshop). The surviving old instruments were repaired, modernized and put into service once again. They also installed new instruments, such as the 65-cm refractor, horizontal meridian device, a photographic polar telescope, a big zenith telescope, stellar
interferometer, 2 solar telescopes,
coronagraph, a big
radio telescope and all kinds of labware. The Simeiz station became a part of the new
Crimean Astrophysical Observatory of the
Soviet Academy of Sciences in
1945. They also built the
Kislovodsk Mountain Astronomical Station and a laboratory in
Blagoveshchensk. The Observatory organized many expeditions for determining differences of
longitudes, observing passages of
Venus and
solar eclipses, studying
astroclimate. In
1962, the Observatory sent an expedition to
Chile to observe stars in the southern skies.
Further Information
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