The Molėtai Astronomical Observatory (MAO; ''Molėtų astronomijos observatorija'' in Lithuanian) is an
astronomical observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
owned and operated by
Vilnius University Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy. It is located on the Kaldiniai Hill next to
Kulionys,
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, 10 km from the town of
Molėtai
Molėtai () ( pl, Malaty) is a town in north eastern Lithuania surrounded by lakes. One of the oldest settlements in Lithuania, it is a popular resort for the inhabitants of Vilnius. According to the 2013 census, it had 6,302 inhabitants.
The to ...
.
History
The
old astronomical observatory of
Vilnius University, opened in 1753, and the new University observatory near
Vingis Park
Vingis Park ( lt, Vingio parkas) is the largest park in Vilnius, Lithuania, covering . It is located in a curve of the Neris River, hence its Lithuanian name: 'vingis' means "bend", "curve"; the same meaning has the historical Polish name of the l ...
, built in 1921, gradually appeared inside the city of Vilnius where conditions turned out to be unsatisfactory for astronomical observations. In 1969, a new observatory was started
in the Molėtai district, about 70 km north of Vilnius. It is built on the Kaldiniai Hill just near the small village of Kulionys, about 10 km from the town of Molėtai. In the fall of 1969, the first 25 cm diameter telescope of the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory (MAO) was mounted. Later on, it was placed to the 35/51 cm Maksutov telescope. In 1974 and 1991, the reflecting telescopes of 63 cm and 165 cm diameters were put into operation.
Equipment
MAO currently has three research telescopes:
* 35 cm
Maksutov telescope
The Maksutov (also called a "Mak") is a catadioptric telescope design that combines a spherical mirror with a weakly negative meniscus lens in a design that takes advantage of all the surfaces being nearly "spherically symmetrical". The negative ...
(f/3.5), which replaced MAO's first 25 cm telescope in 1975,
* 63 cm
Cassegrain telescope
The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas, the main characteristic being that the optical path folds back onto itself, relative to the ...
,
* 165 cm
Ritchey–Chrétien telescope
A Ritchey–Chrétien telescope (RCT or simply RC) is a specialized variant of the Cassegrain telescope that has a hyperbolic primary mirror and a hyperbolic secondary mirror designed to eliminate off-axis optical errors (coma). The RCT has a wi ...
, which MAO claims is the largest in
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
(excluding Britain).
See also
*
List of largest optical reflecting telescopes
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
External links
Molėtai Observatory
Astronomical observatories built in the Soviet Union
Astronomical observatories in Lithuania
Buildings and structures in Utena County
*
Minor-planet discovering observatories
Buildings and structures of Vilnius University
{{lithuania-stub