The largest and most powerful telescopes

The largest and most powerful telescopes in the world and in Russia greatly impress and inspire many people. But objective information about extremely powerful European models is very important. It is also important to know where the binocular large telescope and other main instruments that observe space are located.

It is useful to start your survey of the largest telescopes with an instrument that is called an extremely large telescope. Official original name - ELT or Extremely Large Telescope. It is located in the region of Mount Armasones, next to the Chilean Paranal Observatory. In addition to optical research, this device can record the near infrared spectrum. With a dome mass of 2,800 tons, this telescope is expected to begin operations in 2025. Its diameter will reach 39.3 m. Equipping with special adaptive optics is provided. The effective area of ​​the device will reach 978 sq. m. The focal distance is 420-840 m.

Previously, this telescope bore a European epithet, but in the summer of 2017 it was excluded. The segment mirror will become the main working node. It's not just about size - it will be able to collect 15 times more light than the next largest ground-based telescope.

But there are other large telescope projects underway on Earth. Another of them is also being carried out in Chile, but this is no longer a European, but an American project. The device will be located on the top of Mount Sero Pachon... The device will have a reflex design, and the size of its mirror will be 8.4 m. It is planned that the Sero-Pachon project will be completed in 2022.Instead of the usual 2 mirrors, LSST will include as many as 3, which will further expand the possibilities.

The telescope with the largest diameter in the southern hemisphere is SALT... It is raised to a height of almost 1800 m above sea level. The device is used by the main observatory of South Africa. Its advantage is that you can observe objects that are not detectable north of the equator. The SALT working mirror has a size of 11x9.8 m, and with its help a number of important discoveries have already been made since 2005.

Keck I and Keck II have very similar names. Such telescopes are located in the Hawaiian Islands. The diameters of the mirrors are identical - 10 m each. The technical parameters are also practically the same. This coincidence is not accidental - both telescopes interact in the interferometer mode, which makes it possible to achieve increased accuracy.

Gran telescopio canarias, as you might guess, is located in the Canary Islands. A similar device has been used since 2009. The section of the mirror is 10.4 m. The device is located on the Muchachos volcano, that is, at an altitude of about 2.4 km above sea level. Even quite remote corners of outer space can be easily monitored with GTC.

The largest orbiting telescope in space is the already mentioned Hubble. Its main mirror has a cross section of 2.4 m. The device orbits at an altitude of 569 km. Observations have been conducted since 1990. Despite 5 maintenance services, it continues to work stably.

The large binocular telescope is located in southeastern Arizona (USA). It is considered to be the most advanced device of its kind in terms of resolution. The device is used by the staff of the Mount Graham Observatory. It includes a pair of parabolic mirrors with a section of 8.4 m each.It is stated that the center gap is 14.4 m, and in total the telescope is equivalent to one mirror with a magnitude of 11.8 m, and when switching to the interferometer mode, the equivalent of 22.8 m.

Secondary parabolic mirrors have a cross section of 0.911 m, and their thickness is only 1.6 mm. A magnetic adaptive correction of disturbances due to atmospheric influences is provided. The unconventional design provides significant benefits.

China cannot boast of record-breaking optical astronomical instruments. However, it is the Chinese that is the largest on the planet. radio telescope... Its effective mirror reaches 500 m. The capabilities of such an instrument are expanded not only because of its size, but also due to the special type of surface, which significantly expands the view in the radio range. The main object of research is the study of pulsars, and presumably, over time, and the shadows of black holes.

Also, Chinese experts intend to use this tool to investigate FRB outbreaks, about which very little is known. Even the nature of this phenomenon is still unclear. Perhaps, after some time, the Chinese radio telescope will become part of an international program aimed at searching for extraterrestrial signals. The previous largest radio telescope in Europe and Eurasia as a whole was manufactured back in the twentieth century. This is an instrument installed in the Caucasus.

The largest Russian telescope is BTA (azimuth instrument)... It is located near the village of Nizhniy Arkhyz, at an altitude of about 2.07 km. This device has faithfully served the knowledge of the universe since the end of 1975. The mirror diameter is just over 6 m. Its effective area is 26 square meters. m, and the height of the dome is 53 m.

Until 1993, it was the largest optical telescope in the world. For another 5 years, he remained the leader in the subgroup of astronomical instruments with monolithic mirrors. And even, despite the appearance of more powerful surveillance equipment in other countries, the severity of both the mirrors and the dome of the BTA is not going to give up its positions.The problem initially was the powerful temperature inertia of the main light receiver. They are trying to eliminate this difficulty with the use of cooling systems.

The main executor of the order for the production of parts for the telescope was the Lytkarinsky plant. Only there there were enough experienced specialists and the necessary capacities for casting such a large mirror, annealing it and performing a number of technological fixtures. But despite this, we had to create a special grinding machine, specially ordering it in Kolomna. The delivery of the mirror itself was originally worked out with an accurate weight and size simulator. Despite this, it took about 2 months.

The turbulence characteristic of the North Caucasus atmosphere drastically reduces visibility. Therefore, the potential of BTA is not fully used. But even all these problems do not diminish the importance of such a telescope. It is mainly used for spectroscopy and spectrum-interferometry. However, the list of the most advanced Russian telescopes does not end there.

The next item in it is a device for capturing neutrinos. It's about the Baikal-GVD installation. Strictly speaking, this is not a telescope in the usual sense, but several deep-sea detectors held by floats and steel cables. And also the device includes:

• electronic components;
• control systems;
• data collection modules;
• hydroacoustic components.

Normal operation of the device is possible only in winter. It was then that the icy surface of the lake was used as a neutrino detector. The system is capable, in addition to detecting particles, to pinpoint the exact places where they appeared.

The RATAN-600 radio telescope is also worth mentioning. It is located near the village of Zelenchukskaya in Karachay-Cherkessia. This device with a receiving unit cross-section of 576 m has been operating for 47 years. Located at an altitude of 0.97 km, the radio telescope catches waves from 8 to 500 mm. The main objectives of RATAN-600 are:

• search and identification of remote sources of radio waves;
• study of the features of radio emission from the Sun and other stars;
• search for possible artificial signals from remote areas of space;
• research of magnetic fields in and around the sun;
• assistance in the study of the planets of the solar system, their satellites, asteroids, comets.

If we talk about purely optical instruments, the MTM-500 meniscus telescope attracts attention. Its main mirror cross-section is only 0.5 m. The focal length reaches 6.5 m. The optical system of the device is made according to the Maksutov system. Alas, the RF cannot boast of especially large instruments for observation in the visible range.

But the question of the power of telescopes cannot be reduced only to their size. Due to its placement in outer space, the relatively small Hubble works perfectly. Its cross-section does not exceed 2.4 m. At the same time, a device similar in its capabilities on Earth should have a size of 16.8-24 m. The James Webb project, which should replace the Hubble, has not yet been launched, and its use raises concerns.

Knowing everything about large telescopes is, of course, important. But it is impossible to use such devices for home for obvious reasons. An amateur optical instrument capable of displaying good images should be used. And some home models, indeed, can boast of a special power. The Veber PolarStar 1000/114 EQ is a good example. This is a decent reflector, that is, an apparatus based on a parabolic mirror.... Chromatic aberration is completely absent. A mirrored surface of a special kind allows you to see in detail all the details of the planets of the solar system.

An alternative is the Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ-MD. The main link of the apparatus is a parabolic mirror. The focal length is ideal for the cross-section of the lens. Eyepieces "AstroMaster" allow you to enlarge the image up to 65 times. The StarPointer viewfinder makes it much easier to target the sky.

Refractor lovers should pay attention to Veber PolarStar 900/90 EQ8. Inside there is an enlightened achromatic lens. The device allows you to collect a large amount of light. The image is sharp and uncolored. Aiming is performed with micrometric accuracy along 2 axes simultaneously.

Refractor Celestron AstroMaster 90 AZ also performs well. The focal length is almost perfect. Everything that is inside the galaxy can be seen quite clearly and without redundant details. The wrapping prism will not flip the picture, and the quality and cost of the device are well balanced.

Another product - also produced by the company Celestron... Model NexStar 102 SLT it is practically a computer and perfectly remembers all the settings made earlier. You can set the tuning for objects of a certain group. The azimuth mount is fully automated. The optics are coated using a multilayer technique.

There are other models of powerful telescopes for hobbyists. But in order to select them correctly, you will have to carefully study that very useful telescope magnification. The adjective “useful” is not accidental.

Some manufacturers like to write that their products can be magnified up to 400 or even 600 times. But these are clearly overestimated figures. In reality, they can be achieved only with an aperture of at least 30 cm. And even if everything is realized, the earth's atmosphere will greatly distort the picture. You must also take into account your real needs:

• the full moon can be seen at 100% with a magnification of up to 30-40 times;
• if the telescope enlarges the picture 100 times or more, then you can see small details of the lunar relief;
• the same 100-fold increase is needed to get acquainted with the surface of the planets and their satellites;
• bright compact nebulae and distant objects similar in optical characteristics can be seen at a magnification of at least 200 times;
• single stars can be observed in a telescope even at a small magnification, but it must be increased to study binary and multiple systems.