Belogradchik Observatory
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Belogradchik Observatory | |||||||||
Organization | Bulgarian Academy of Sciences | ||||||||
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Location | Belogradchik, Bulgaria | ||||||||
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Altitude | 650 m (2,134 ft) | ||||||||
Established | 1961 | ||||||||
Website Astronomical observatory - Belogradchik |
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The Astronomical Observatory of Belogradchik or Belogradchik Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. It is located near the town of Belogradchik in northwestern Bulgaria.
[edit] History
Built in 1961 by a group of astronomy enthusiasts led by high school physics teacher Hristo Kostov, Belogradchik Observatory became the first school observatory in Bulgaria. From 1964 to 1971 it was used as an auxiliary observation base. In 1974, Bugarian Academy of Sciences took over operation.
[edit] Equipment
The observatory started out with a single 15 cm Cassegrain telescope, then added on an 60 cm Cassegrain telescope in 1965. In 1994 another telescope was added, a 14 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain model.