Kamenskoe Plateau Observatory

Kamenskoe Plateau Observatory sits above Almaty, Kazakhstan, at an elevation of 1,450 metres, on grounds that have hosted astronomical research since the years following the Second World War.

About Kamenskoe Plateau Observatory

The observatory is located on the grounds of the Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute, named for astrophysicist Vasily Fesenkov, one of the key figures behind its founding.

History

The observatory was founded in 1947 by astrophysicists who had been evacuated to the Kazakh SSR during the Second World War, and it was built with the participation of Japanese prisoners of war. In 1948, astronomer Gavriil Tikhov, another key figure in the observatory's founding, established a separate astrobotany sector of the Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences with its own observatory nearby. That sector was disbanded after Tikhov's death in 1960.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits at 1,450 metres elevation on the Kamenskoe Plateau above Almaty, Kazakhstan, a location chosen for its altitude and clearer air above the city, the same reasoning that has drawn observatories to elevated sites around the world.

Visiting Kamenskoe Plateau Observatory

The Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute publishes information about the observatory on its website; check fai.kz for current details before planning a visit, since access to a working research facility may be limited.

See your named star from here

Nearly 80 years after its founding, Kamenskoe Plateau Observatory still looks out over Almaty toward the same sky where a Star Register named star's coordinates would place it. Browse our naming packages or check the star catalogue for a star's exact position.