General Information

Engelhardt Astronomical Observatory (EAO) is interdepartmental educational and scientific center of Space Research and Technology, Institute of Physics, KFU.

EAO was based in 1901 and located in 24 kilometers from the city of Kazan (Longitude =3h 15m 15.74 s, Latitude = 55050 ' 20 " 6, H = 94 m).

Today the first in Russia on the basis of Engelhardt  Astronomical observatory (EAO) of Kazan federal university (KFU, Russia) is creating the Center of space researches  and  technologies  (Center) and public Astronomical Park (AstroPark) as an important part in the frame of strategic program (2012-2020yrs) on transformations of the KFU to world leading university. The Center has social missions: education, science, astronomical and space public intellectual-cognitive tourism.

The scientific components of the Center are:

•  It will be constructed the multidisciplinary space astrometry center.
•  It will serve for effective using cosmic results and education skills;
• Making the effective ground support for realization of cosmic program “GLONASS”, “RadioAstron”, “Luna-Glob” missions, etc.;
• Development of the metrological polygon for testing satellite equipment;

Multidisciplinary space astrometry observatory at KFU will include:

•   GPS/GLONASS systems;
•   Radio antenna for Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI);
•   Systems of satellite laser ranging (SLR) for a global network of observation stations;
•   Wide-angled Space Debris Scanner;
•   Gravimetric laboratory;
•   Regional Seismic Systems.

Education part is containing:

• Base of geodesic and astronomy practice;
• Complex high-tech equipment for working of students, PhD students;
• Educational space and astronomical public center.

   As an example, in the present year the action «Day of Cosmonautics » for one evening the EAO have visited more than five thousand  persons and small children, schoolboys could look at the sky in good astronomical telescopes without using the Internet!!!

    If all the planned facilities in the project will be built this center will be a unique world level scientific object.

Departments of EAO:

Department of space astrometry and geodesy

Department of Applied Astrophysics

Department of Applied radioastronomy

Department of Design performance group

Open lab “Solar - terrestrial relations”

Open lab “Studies fast variable processes in the Universe”

Museum of astronomy