THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND BULGARIA DEVELOP THROUGH THE PRISM OF ASTRONOMIC COOPERATION
arminfo
2007-08-20 21:10:00
Armenia and Bulgaria will start cooperation in the sphere of astronomy
from 2008, Doctor of Astronomy of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Milcho
Tsvetkov told ArmInfo correspondent.
According to him, there has been equivalent exchange of scientific
potential between Armenian and Bulgarian scientists since long
ago. M.Tsvetkov defended a dissertation on the basis of the
Yerevan State University in the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory
(BAO). Now, the individual cooperation at the level of Armenian and
Bulgarian scientists escalates into a global interstate program. The
possibilities of the one meter long telescope of BAO and two meters
long telescope of Rozhen Observatory, as well as archive materials
stored in the two countries will be used during the cooperation.
Due to the lack of new generation receivers, only one of 5
telescopes at BAO is currently being used. However, BAO and the
Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences
have recently started implementing a joint program on using the
Schmidt telescope, which was one of the biggest in the world
once. Russia gave $250 thsd for installation of a photoelectric
radiation receiver. Earlier out-of-date methods were used at the
observatory. After the new receiver is installed, it will be possible
to receive 4 times as much information with a size of 4 thsd pixels
on a 4 cm snapshot. Milcho Tsvetkov pointed out that there is such a
receiver on a 2 m long telescope in Rozhen (Bulgaria), the largest
observatory in South Eastern Europe. Exchange of skills of using
this new technological unit is planned within the framework of
Armenian-Bulgarian cooperation.