RATAN-600 Radio Telescope

RATAN-600, located on the Arkhyz Plateau near Zelenchukskaya, is one of the world’s largest radio telescopes. The concept was developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, and construction began in 1968 at an elevation of 970 meters. The site was chosen for its dry climate, shelter from wind, and distance from urban interference. The instrument received its first cosmic signal on July 12, 1974, and all sectors and the flat reflector were operating by late 1976. Its circular reflector consists of 895 enormous panels, each adjustable in three axes, while the flat reflector extends for 400 meters. Five mobile cabins carrying receiving equipment travel on rails to collect radio emission. RATAN-600 initially focused on the Sun and now studies radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, microflares, cosmic background radiation, and supernovae. Observations of solar flares and coronal mass ejections are especially important for forecasting magnetic storms and understanding the Sun’s influence on Earth. The telescope also monitors activity in stars with planetary systems.

In the late 1970s, RATAN-600 was pointed toward the Moon and detected two powerful radio signals that were artificial rather than lunar in origin. In the 1980s, the telescope observed what was then considered the most distant radio galaxy, whose light had traveled for billions of years. Its observations also helped show that bright quasars may be sources of neutrinos, opening new directions in the study of the universe.