Pulkovo Observatory
Pulkovo Observatory is the main astronomical observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, located 19 km south of the center of St. Petersburg. It was opened on August 7, 1839 under the leadership of scientist-astronomer V. Y. Struve. At that time, 8 people worked in the observatory, and the largest refractor was 38 cm in size. Now the Pulkovo Observatory employs 330 people, and the size of the refractor “grew” to 76 cm. The scientific activities of the center cover the priority areas of fundamental research in astronomy: celestial mechanics and stellar dynamics, astrometry (geometric and kinematic parameters of the Universe), the Sun and solar-terrestrial relations, physics and evolution of stars, extragalactic astronomy, instrumentation and methods of astronomical observations. On June 5, 2018, the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences decided to move astronomical observations from Pulkovo to other observing bases located in more favorable astroclimatic conditions within 5 years.
