PROBING THE SUN'S SECRETS. INTERVIEW REPORTED BY PRAVDA, MAY 23RD, 1971. IN FULL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00787R000500130064-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 13, 1998
• Sequence Number: 64
• Publication Date: May 23, 1971
• Content Type: TRANS

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1'ROT_1'TG__T.13E SUN' Sr' SECRETS
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Scientists,=df' the S' an T sti.tute of
? and a zo-wave
Geomagnetic Ionos he e
ropy . a s M O e of a
so ar ra io-telescope. The full scale telescope
will be erected on a field of nearly fifty hectares
in the Bodar district near Lake Baikal, Our
correspondent asked the director of the institute
corresponding member of the SR Academy of
Sciences, Vladimir Stcpanos and the head the
r die- ronomy laborator G nnadV Sma ov o
give their comments of this a=t er,
~l i3;
Q. What was the reason for building this radio-telescope?
A. The Directives of the 24th Congress of the CPSU provided for
scientific research in the fields of long-distance radio communications:
television and weather forecasting in the coming five-year plan
period, The scientists will also continue their research into
the fundamental problems of astrophysics, interplanetary space,
solar physics and interactions between the sun and earth.
At present the sun presents us with unsolved puzzles concerning
its spots, chromosphere eruptions and accompanying phenomena. DurinCC
these bursts of activity the sun emits an enormous amount of
energy in the form of waves and corpuscular radiation. The former
take 8.3 minutes to reach the Earth, the latter several days.
They cause interruption of radio communic nti.ons, severe distortion
of the Earth's magnetic field, affect the weather and even the
condition of human beings suffering from cardio--vascular diseases,
The level of radiation in the vicinity of the Earth increases to
such an extent that it becomes dangerous for cosmic flights,
In order to learn how to forecast these eruptive solar
processes and their geophysical consequences, it is necessary
to have full knowledge of their mechanism and dynamics.
Q. But there are many other solar laboratories in the world.
A. True. In our institute we have sever?l optical telescopes
us to study the surface, or
for different purposes. They enable u.~
photosphere of the sun, others the lower layers of the solar
atmosphere, the chromosphere. Using a tolescope with a device
for creating an artificial solar eclipse, i.e. a solar coronagraph
we can study the outer layers of 'the sun's atmosphere, its corona,
~- r to the line
However we see only that part which is at right angles
of sight and not that which faces the Earth. The latter will be
visible either a webk earlier or a week later due to the rotation
of the Sun. Optical observation is greatly dependent on the weather
and thcr eiorC the instruments at our disposal are unable to cover
all the aspects of solar research. It is impossible to study the
structure, dynamics, origin and mechanisms in active areas of the eru sA~ -roves opr Release 2001 03/26 : CIA-RDP96 OO787ROOO5OO13OO64 5 e of
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radio-astronomical methods. For this reason the radio teleiscope
is an essential aid fc.r the scientists.
The plasma in the solar atmosphere radiates a continuous
spectrum of radio--waves, However the density of the atmosphere
falls the fur't'her it is from the surface of the Sun. For this
reason the wavelength of the radiation changes from a few
millimetres near the surface of the Sun to tens of metres in
the outer corona, Radiation of greater or smaller wavelengths
is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, In the active areas of
.the corona, the density and temperature of the plasma is much
higher and the intensity of the radiation is greatly increased,
By turning their radio-telescope to different wavelengths the
scientists can "exa-mine" the solar atmosphere at various heights.
The solar radio-telescope built several years ago in Australia
is designed for wavelengths in the metre range. Ours will operate
in the centimetre range.
Q. What is the radio telescope like?
A. It is a ,-lulti-element, cruciform radio interferometre with
two rows of antennas, one directed east-west, the other
north-south. It is supplied with complex electronic equipment.
In designing the telescope many difficult technical problems had
to be solved. For this reason it is necessary to check several
of the technical problems connected with its design experimentally,
This is why we built this model.. It is not a miniature model., it
consits of a number of antennae of the same size as the future
telescope. The model will be used to check the solar tracking
devices, reception of radiation, etc. A wave-guide several hundred
metres long will be set up to check the tracking of the signals
received from the antennae.
The large dimensions of the interferometer will give it high
resolution, in the neighbourhood of 20 seconds of arc, Panoramic
inspection of the Sun will be performed. simultaneously in two
directions, The telescope will give us such an enormous amount
of information that it will be impossible to process it by hand,
The scanning and processing of the data will be performed automa
t:ically by a computer which will control the telescope, collect
and process the received signals and build a radio image of the Sun
every few minutes, At the same time the operator at the control
panel will be able to see this image on the screen of a television
receiver.
The radio telescope will be able to register local sources of
radiation whose intensity is ten times that of the quiescent solar
corona. It will also be able to register eruptions which have an-
intensity a hundred times that of adjacent sources, It will enable
us to fallow fast transient processes in active areas of the lower
layers of the corona. This will be the first instrument in the' wold
having such characteristics and capabilities,
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Q. What will this instrument give science in the final
analysis?
A. The instrument at Bodar will be used for observations only,.
The theoretical conclusions from these observations will be drawn
in the radio-astronomical laboratories of the institute which are
connected by tele-type with the interferometer. In the laboratories
scientists will. be able to correlate processes observed by the
radio-telescope with the structure of active areas observed
optically in other observatories of the institute.
Finally, we will be able to construct a map depicting the
distribution of the Sun's magnetic field in space. With its
help, scientists will be able to forecast solar activity,
determine -the conditions for the transmission of radio signals
and the conditions in space, All this is necessary for ensuring
dependable short-wAve radio communications between the Earth
and objects in space, between different points on the surface
of the globe and the safety of life in space,
/:(J2,-3
Correspo ding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences,
A;Pistolkorsis intimately concerned with the design of the radio
:Fe1escope. He is scientific _.x-actor of the pro~ec-i_., In designing
this instrument we ecelve conslderless~. once from the
observatories and institutes of the USSR Academy of Sciences,
from the Presidium of the Siberian section of the A.Sc. and
from industrial institutes and organisations.
Q. When will the radio-telescope be put into operation?
A. We propose to finish working out the design problems of the
model in the present year, said G,Smolkov, As soon as this is
done we will start constructing the system in Bodar. The site has
already been selected and all preliminary work has been done.
(Pravda, May 23rd, 1971. In full.)
p er ~t t? ' C. C+~.~ -
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