Chuguevskaya Station Observatory

The Chuguevskaya Station Observatory, also known as the Chuhuiv Observational Station, sits near the village of Ivanovka in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, at an elevation of 156 metres above sea level.

About Chuguevskaya Station Observatory

Run by the Institute of Astronomy of Kharkiv National University, the station was established in the early 1960s — 1962, specifically — as a dark-sky alternative once growing light pollution in Kharkiv itself made serious observation there impractical.

History

A 70 cm AZT-8 planetary telescope was installed in 1963, alongside an AFR-2 solar telescope, and the station built a reputation for photometric studies of asteroids, exoplanet searches, and meteor observations. Its coherent optics laboratory made a real contribution to the development of speckle interferometry, a technique for sharpening images blurred by the atmosphere. In 2022 the station was severely damaged and looted during the Russian occupation of the area, a loss that has significantly affected its ability to operate.

Location & getting there

The station sits near Ivanovka in Chuhuiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, in eastern Ukraine, at 156 metres of elevation — a rural setting chosen specifically to escape the light pollution of nearby Kharkiv.

Visiting Chuguevskaya Station Observatory

Given the damage sustained in 2022 and the observatory's location in an active conflict region, visiting is not currently advisable; check official Kharkiv National University sources for the latest status before making any plans.

See your named star from here

Every star named through Star Register carries exact coordinates, meaning that once conditions allow, an observatory like this one could in principle be used to locate it in the sky. Name a star as a way of marking a connection to this observatory and its history, or browse the catalogue of stars already named.