Astronomical Observatory named after V.P. Engelhardt

1. 1901 - 1918 Dubyago, Dmitry Ivanovich
2. 1918 - 1925 Grachev, Mikhail Avramievich
3. 1925 - 1931 Yakovkin, Avenir Alexandrovich
4. 1931 - 1954 Martynov, Dmitry Yakovlevich
5. 1954 - 1958 Dubyago, Alexander Dmitrievich
6. 1958 - 1976 Nefediev, Anatoly Alekseevich
7. 1976 - 1991 Belkovich, Oleg Igorevich
8. 1991 - 2008 Sakhibullin, Nail Abdullovich
9. since 2008 Nefediev, Yuri Anatolyevich

The observatory was founded by D.I. Dubyago with funds bequeathed to V.P. Engelhardt and equipped with equipment donated by Engelhardt to Kazan University in 1897 . The reason for the founding of the observatory was the inconvenience of observation in the city center (strong exposure). In the summer of 1898 , after V.P. Engelhardt transferred his instruments (12 "Grubba equator, 6" equator-comet finder, 4 "small comet finder, Bamberg's passive instrument, Fenel universal instrument, Knoblich watches and Tide watches), D. I. Dubyago on the release of funds and land allotment for the construction of the observatory was satisfied.The laying of the buildings of the observatory was made on March 7, 1899 .

The design of the meridian hall made it possible to quickly equalize the external and internal temperatures, which made the hall one of a kind. In addition to the main building of the observatory, two wooden houses with sliding roofs were built for observation on small portable instruments. In 1908, a stone tower was built with a rotating dome for the heliometer and a second wooden residential building. In 1914, the third residential building was built, then the pavilion for the astrograph. In 1934, the construction of a seismic basement began.

After the death of D.I. Dubyago, M.A. Grachev became the director of the observatory, who managed to save the observatory during the revolution and civil war . After death, M. A. Grachev was buried at the foot of the mound, in which D. I. Dubyago was buried.

The next director was A. A. Yakovkin , who acquired the Zeiss 120 mm lens and objective prism for the Heide astrograph in 1929. Thanks to this, it became possible to photograph star fields and receive stellar spectra. These photographs laid the foundation for the glass library of the Engelhardt Observatory, which currently numbers tens of thousands of photographic plates. A. A. Yakovkin himself also made a large number of observations on the heliometer, as a result of the processing of which he received refined values ​​of the physical libration of the moon.

After A. A. Yakovkin left the observatory , the post of director was taken by D. Ya. Martynov, who later held the post of rector of KSU (1951-1954). Martynov’s appointment coincided with the transfer of AOE to a research institute at KSU with its own separate budget and staff. in 1943, the Schmidt reflector system was put into operation. Schmidt's 38-cm photographic reflector was built in the workshops of Kazan Aviation Institute and Kazan University. The optical part was manufactured at the GOI in Leningrad under the direction of D. D. Maksutov . By the fortieth year, a new stone building was erected in the AOE, erected in the style of Soviet neoclassicism. It housed a laboratory and library, over time, completely occupying the building. During the Great Patriotic War, the Engelhardt Observatory was one of the few in the USSR that continued its work (also Tashkent and Sverdlovsk ^{[ clarify ]} ). During the war years hundreds of photographic plates of star fields, comets, and minor planets have been obtained. On October 21, 1941, several AOE employees led by D. Ya. Martynov successfully observed a total solar eclipse in Alma-Ata, performing a number of important spectral observations. Since 1932, observations on the variability of latitude have been continuously conducted. Until 1945, observations were carried out on a passive instrument, and in 1946 a 90-mm Bamberg zenith telescope was installed. In the 1950s, construction began on a more powerful zenith telescope with a wide field of view. Nine such ZTL-180 telescopes were manufactured (diameter - 180 mm, focal length - 2360 mm), one of which was installed at the Engelhardt Observatory.

In 1950, a major overhaul of the refractor tower was made. The upper wooden part is made anew. After repair at the refractor, observations of minor planets, comets, moon coverings, and spectral observations of stars were resumed. Works of A. D. Dubyago on the theory of motion of comets received world recognition. At a new level, the stellar astronomical direction of research was revived, the beginning of which was laid in the XIX century by M. A. Kovalsky. Based on the distribution of stars observed in the sky, the study of the structure of our Galaxy has begun. It is worth noting the work of Sh. T. Khabibullin (the method of stellar calculations in two rays and the method of studying dark nebulae, which was included in textbooks on stellar astronomy as the Khabibullin method). A method was developed to uniquely determine the parameter of the physical libration of the moon. In 1957, satellite monitoring stations were set up in Kazan and in the AOE. The increase in flare associated with the continuous growth of Kazan becomes a noticeable hindrance to observations. In 1967, the search began for a suitable location for the construction of a branch of the observatory. A site was chosen adjacent to the territory of the NAO , 1.5 km from the world's largest telescope at that time with a mirror diameter of 6 m. In 1976, the North Caucasus Astronomical Station of Kazan University (SKAS) was commissioned. In 1986, Kazan University took part in the Soviet program for the study of Halley's comet ( SOPROG ). In August 1985, the first images of Halley's comet were obtained. In total, over 100 positions of the comet were obtained at SKAS KSU. Later, these observations were recognized as one of the most accurate positions of the comet among the observations in the USSR. The observatory participated in the international project FOBOS on the coordinate support of spacecraft flights to the satellites of Mars (1986-1987).

In 1989, the observatory took the 20th place in the world in the activity of observations of comets. ^[3]

• Heliometer
• Bamberg 90mm Zenith Telescope (1946)
• Zenith telescope ZTL-180 (D = 180 mm, F = 2360 mm)
• Meridian Circle
• Refractor (based on Engelhardt's 12-inch equatorial)
• AZT-14 48-cm reflector (D = 480 mm, F = 7715 mm)
• Heide astrograph (D = 120mm) + objective prism - for obtaining spectra of stars
• AST-452 - Maksutov’s meniscus telescope (D = 350 mm, F = 1200 mm) ^[5]
• Astrograph AFR-18 (D = 200 mm, F = 2000 mm)

• Dubyago, Dmitry Ivanovich
• Banachevich, Tadeusz

• In June 2013, a planetarium was opened ^[6]
• In the spring of 1904, to align the meridian circle , the world was set up. To set up the southern worlds, a 5.5 m high mound had to be poured. After the death, the founder of the observatory, D.I. Dubyago, was buried in a crypt built on the mound by the architect Mufke .

• There is a museum in one of the buildings of the observatory
• In the early 1970s, the artist Konstantin Alekseevich Vasiliev , who painted an autumn landscape with the building of the observatory and a series of paintings “Starry Sky”, exhibited at the Kazan Museum of Konstantin Vasiliev ^{[1] [7]} , worked for some time at the observatory.

• KSU Observatory may be protected by UNESCO (inaccessible link)
• Scientific - methodical description of the educational - observation complex of the Astronomical Observatory. V.P. Engelhardt
• T. Latypov Keepers of the Stars // Time and Money, No. 175-176 (2385-2386), September 22, 2006
• G. Milashevsky “Guardian Angel” of the Kazan Observatory // Time and Money, No. 147 (2602), August 9, 2007
• ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY them. V.P. ENGELGARDT
• WAO expedition to the Kazan Astronomical Observatory. V.P. Engelhardt. Report.
• Photo report and guided tour of the observatory
• A hundred years is a lot! Astronet

Publications of observations at the Center for Minor Planets:

• Astrometric observations of minor planets
• Astrometric observations of minor planets

• Kazan State University
• Astronomical Observatory of Kazan State University
• Astronomy in Russia
• List of Astronomical Instruments
• Engelhardt, Vasily Pavlovich
• Belkovich, Igor Vladimirovich