Crimean Astrophysical Observatory

Crimean Astrophysical Observatory

The observatory's logo
Code	095
Location	near Nauchny, Crimea
Coordinates	44°43′36″N 34°0′57.1″E / 44.72667°N 34.015861°E / 44.72667; 34.015861Coordinates: 44°43′36″N 34°0′57.1″E / 44.72667°N 34.015861°E / 44.72667; 34.015861
Website	www.crao.crimea.ua
Telescopes
BLS-1 Solar telescope BLS-2 Solar telescope Shain telescope 2.6-metre telescope AZT-11 reflector 1.22-m Babelsberg telescope AZT-8 reflector
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The Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO) is located at Nauchnyj research campus, near the Central Crimean city of Bakhchysarai, on the Crimean peninsula. CrAO is often called simply by its location and campus name, Crimea-Nauchnij, still ranks among the worldwide most prolific discovery sites for minor planets.

CrAO has also been publishing the Bulletin of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory since 1947, in English since 1977. The observatory facilities (IAU code 095) are located on territory of settlement of Nauchny since the mid-1950s; before that, they were further south, near Simeis. The latter facilities still see some use, and are referred to as the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory-Simeis (IAU code 094).

As of 2016, the Minor Planet Center (MPC) gives a total of 1286 numbered minor planets that were discovered at the Crimea-Nauchnij observatory site during 1966–2007. Most of these discovery are credited to the Russian/Soviet astronomers Tamara Smirnova, Lyudmila Chernykh, Nikolai Chernykh, Lyudmila Zhuravleva, Bella A. Burnasheva, Nikolaj Efimovič Kuročkin, Lyudmila Karachkina, Natal'ja Vital'evna Metlova and Galina Ričardovna Kastel'. As a peculiarity, British astronomer and long-time MPC director Brian G. Marsden is also credited with the co-discovery of 37556 Svyaztie at Nauchnyj in 1982, as a symbolic gesture of the astronomical collaborations and friendships between the East and the West during the Cold War.