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Chapter 1. Position-Sensitive Detector: First Image and Beyond

Glacially slow advance(pp. 101ff)

... The year 1985 brought consequential interest and support from an unexpected direction.

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[Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Academy of Sciences] SAO operated a 6-meter (19.7-ft) in diameter optical telescope (Fig. 5.9). It was located in picturesque mountains at an altitude of 2070 m (6800 ft) on the northern slope of the western part of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The Large Altazimuth Telescope (Bol'shoi Teleskop Azimutal'nyi, or, Al't-Azimutal'nyi, BTA in Russian), BTA-6, was the biggest in the world at that time. The number 6 in its name stood for the telescope diameter in meters.

The observatory was a highly visible organization and gave the country bragging rights. The government supported it with ample resources. Specially issued collectible envelopes and postage stamps celebrated this achievement of Soviet astronomy (Fig. 5.10). After an initial period of difficulties, the telescope became fully operational, although the astroclimate (astronomical seeing) at the location was far from ideal. A small hotel next to the dome at the mountain top (Fig. 5. 11) provided accommodations for visiting astronomers.

A supporting settlement, Nizhnii Arkhyz, 800 m (2600 ft) lower, housed the scientists, engineers, and staff of SAO (Fig. 5.12). The Special Astrophysical Observatory also operated a radio telescope, RATAN-600 or Radioastronomicheskii Teleskop Akademii Nauk (Radioastronomical Telescope of the Academy of Sciences). Almost 900 rectangular reflectors formed the telescope collecting area, a circle 600 meters in diameter (Figs. 5.13, 5.14). RATAN-600 was located near the settlement Zelenchukskaya, 12 miles (20 km) away from Nizhnii Arkhyz and 1100 m (3600 ft) lower in altitude.

Fig. 5.11. Satellite photograph of a mountain top with BTA-6 (43°38.8' N, 41°26.4' E) and a small hotel for visiting astronomers nearby (top). The insert (bottom left) shows the magnified fragment with the telescope dome and a metal gantry in front (also seen in Fig. 5.9, right) for handling large telescope components. The photograph is oblique and made from a satellite to the east of the observatory.
Original satellite reconnaissance photograph by KH-9 camera (Mission 1215-3; June 19, 1979) available from the U.S. Geological Survey; photograph identification, interpretation, and processing by Mike Gruntman.

Fig. 5.13. Oblique satellite photograph of the radiotelescope RATAN-600 (43°49.5' N, 41°35.2' E) with its reflecting mirrors forming a circle 600 meters in diameter. As noted in the preface of the book, distortions in oblique images have not been corrected. A horizontal line in the lower part of the circle is a plane reflector. The 12 radial lines are rail tracks for moving the cabins with signal receiving equipment. Original satellite reconnaissance photograph by KH-9 camera (Mission 1215-3; June 19, 1979) available from the U.S. Geological Survey; photograph identification, interpretation, and processing by Mike Gruntman.

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