High Tech Telescope For Dangerous Asteroids Detection Launched In Russia

The country's first wide-angle telescope AZT-33 BM will be able to see any space boulder the size of the Tunguska meteorite a month before its collision with Earth.

At the Sayan Observatory of the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, trial operation of the first wide-angle telescope in Russia has started.

The AZT-33 VM telescope with a field view of 2.8 degrees was built in St. Petersburg by optical corporation JSC “LOMO,” with the assistance of the Siberian Branch of RAS and Roskosmos.


“This is the first tool of its kind in Russia, a world-class telescope, very powerful. It will be able to detect distant objects that threaten Earth,” news website Izvestia reported Boris Shustov, scientific director of the Institute of Astronomy as saying.

“Within just 30 seconds the telescope can get information about an asteroid of 50 m in size and at a distance of one astronomical unit — 150 million km. This means that the telescope will be able to view any object from that distance, parameters of which could be comparable to the Tunguska meteorite,” Shustov further said.

sputniknews.com...

Russia covers so much land area that it is probably the most likely country to be hit by an asteroid. After the near miss over Chelyabinsk, the Russian government seems to be getting serious about asteroid defense. The more eyes on the sky, the better for humanity.

Nothing like being God Smacked for motivation.

(Portion redacted)

The recent 'brush' with a space body wasn't detected because it came out of the sun, right?

a reply to: intrptr

Is it Geostationary?

Wonder what the resolution on the Earth's surface would be?

It is geostationary in the sense that it is on the Earth's surface.

a reply to: DJW001

Oh, derp. Thanks…

a reply to: intrptr

Maybe Neo?

a reply to: tikbalang

I would love to see the early missile warning systems response to that space rock entering the earths atmosphere.

Did it sound any alarms at all?

With all of the "classified payloads" of the space shuttle and all of the spy satellites that are launched annually, if HALF of that budget went into asteroid finders, maybe the doom porn associated with space bodies hitting earth would be lessened.

Why can't we all just get along and do the right thing for the entire planet?

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: tikbalang

I would love to see the early missile warning systems response to that a space rock entering the earths atmosphere.

Did it sound any alarms at all?

My guess is they travel too fast to be ballistic missiles, so they're ignored.
Either that or "it's classified"...in other words, # don't work like they say it does.

a reply to: the owlbear

Meaning they didn't catch it before or during the event. And they don't claim so did because they can't show the proof. Better to not address it, then.

Understanding of course that part of early detections is launch signature which this thing didn't exhibit. But it did 'enter' the atmosphere and slow down, apparently untracked.

Says a lot for any rain of ruin from space, "the likes of which mankind has never before witnessed". --Truman, on the A bomb threat to Japan.

I wonder if a month would be enough time to do anything about it

If it was a small city it was going to land in then im sure a month would be enough to vacate it. but what if it was London or beijing or somewher big?

And would a month be enough to build and launch and intercept it to nudge it off course?

I suspect not to both those questions/