Crimean Astrophysical Observatory

Near the town of Bakhchysarai on the Crimean peninsula, the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory has spent decades as one of the world's most productive sites for discovering minor planets.

About Crimean Astrophysical Observatory

The Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO, observatory code 095) sits at the Nauchnij research campus on the Crimean peninsula, at an elevation of 590 metres. It is one of the most prolific observatories in the world for minor planet discoveries.

History

Between 1966 and 2007, astronomers at CrAO discovered 1,286 numbered minor planets, with early contributions from Grigory Neujmin, Sergey Belyavsky, Vladimir Albitsky and Grigory Shajn, among others. From 1963, a joint observing programme with the Leningrad Institute of Theoretical Astronomy tracked roughly 90% of all known minor planets at its peak. CrAO's earlier facilities near Simeiz, on the coast, are still in occasional use today under the separate observatory code 094.

Telescopes & research

The observatory has published the Bulletin of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory since 1947, switching to English-language editions in 1977, keeping its research accessible to astronomers worldwide.

Location & getting there

CrAO sits at 590 metres elevation near Bakhchysarai on the Crimean peninsula. The site's altitude and relative distance from city lights have long made it a favoured spot for tracking faint, fast-moving objects like minor planets.

Visiting Crimean Astrophysical Observatory

As a working research facility, public access is limited and can change; check the observatory's own website before planning a visit.

See your named star from here

An observatory built to track thousands of individual minor planets is no stranger to pinpointing an object from its coordinates alone. Once you've named a star, you can look up its exact position in the star catalogue to find it yourself.