Orion (space telescope) explained

The Orion space telescopes were a series of two instruments flown aboard Soviet spacecraft during the 1970s to conduct ultraviolet spectroscopy of stars.

Orion 1

The Orion 1 space astrophysical observatory was installed in the orbital station Salyut 1. It was designed by Grigor Gurzadyan of Byurakan Observatory in Armenia, USSR. It was operated in June 1971 by crew member Viktor Patsayev, who thus became the first man to operate a telescope outside the Earth's atmosphere. Spectrograms of stars Vega and Beta Centauri between wavelengths 2000 and 3800 Å were obtained.^[1]

Specifications

• Ultraviolet telescope
• Optical system: Mersenne
• Spectrograph: Wadsworth
• Diameter of primary mirror: 280 mm
• Focal length: 1400 mm
• Spectral range: 2000–3800 Å
• Spectral resolution at wavelength 2600 Å: 5 Å
• Film: UFSh 4, width 16 mm, range of sensitivity: 4000–2500 Å, resolution better 130 lines/mm
• Cartridge capacity: 12m
• Stabilization: two-stage, inertial
• First stage: three-axis inertial stabilization of station Salyut 1;
• Fine guidance: via a star with accuracy 15 arcsec on each axis.
• Star sensor: of semi-disk (diameter of input: 70 mm; focal length: 450 mm), limiting stellar magnitude 5m.
• Mass: 170 kg

Orion 2

Orion 2 was installed onboard Soyuz 13 in December 1973, a spacecraft modified to become the first manned space observatory. The observatory was operated by crew member Valentin Lebedev. The designer of the observatory was Grigor Gurzadyan, then at Garni Space Astronomy Laboratory in Armenia. Ultraviolet spectrograms of thousands of stars to as faint as 13th stellar magnitude were obtained by a wide-angle meniscus telescope.^[2] The first satellite UV spectrogram of a planetary nebula (IC 2149) was obtained, revealing spectral lines of aluminum and titanium - elements not previously observed in planetary nebula. Two-photon emission in that planetary nebula and a remarkable star cluster in Auriga were also discovered.^[3]

Specifications

• Telescope: meniscus, Cassegrain (-Maksutov) system with an objective prism
• Primary mirror: 300 mm
• Focal length: 1000 mm
• Field of view: 5°
• Registration of spectrograms: film KODAK 103UV, diameter: 110 mm
• Spectral resolution: 8-29 Å at 2000-3000 Å
• Two star sensor sets: each containing a two-coordinate star sensor coaxial to telescope and one-coordinate one, in 45° to telescope axis.
• Two additional sidereal spectrographs.
• Three-axes guidance system accuracy: better than 5 arcsec on two cross-sectional axes of telescope (via star А), and better than 30 arcsec at optical axis (star B)
• Star sensors: input apertures: 80 and 60 mm; focal lengths: 500 and 240 mm; limiting stellar magnitudes: 3.5 and 3.0 m.
• Mass: 240 kg (telescope: 205 kg)
• Mass returned to Earth (cartridges): 4.3 kg

References

Orion 1 bibliography

• Gurzadyan . G.A . Ohanesyan . J.B. . 1972 . Observed Energy Distribution of alpha Lyra and beta Cen at 2000-3800 Å . Nature . 239 . 5367. 90 . 10.1038/239090a0. 1972Natur.239...90G . free .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1972 . A Magnesium Feature in Ultraviolet Stellar Spectra . Sky & Telescope . 43 . 350 . 1972S&T....43..350G .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . Ohanesyan . J.B. . 1972 . Spectrograms of alpha Lira and beta Cen in the region of 2000-3800A . Space Science Reviews . 13 . 4–6. 647–650 . 10.1007/bf00213498. 1972SSRv...13..647G . 120377893 .
• Gurzadyan . G. A. . Ohanesyan . J. B. . 1972 . The Use of Synchrotron Radiation in the Energy Calibration of Astronomical Apparatus . Space Science Reviews . 13 . 4–6. 642–646 . 10.1007/bf00213497. 1972SSRv...13..642G . 122182619 .
• Gurzadyan, G.A., 1972 On One Principle of Operation of Orbital Observatory by a Cosmonaut, Commun. Byurakan Obs, vol.XLV, p. 5.
• Gurzadyan, G.A., Harutyunian, E.A., 1972 Orbital Astrophysical Observatory Orion, Commun. Byurakan Obs., vol.XLV, p. 12.
• Gurzadyan . G. A. . Ohanesyan . J. B. . 1972 . Ultraviolet absorption lines in the spectrum of Vega . Astronomy and Astrophysics . 20 . 321 . 1972A&A....20..321G .
• Gurzadyan . G. A. . 1973 . 1977 Space astronomy . Vestnik Akad. Nauk SSSR . 6 . 66–74 . 1973VeSSR...6...66G .
• Oberg . J . Notes on Soviet space astronomy . Sky and Telescope . 1977 . 53 . 92 . 1977S&T....53...92O .

Orion 2 bibliography

• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1974 . Ultraviolet spectra of Capella . Nature . 250 . 5463. 204–205 . 10.1038/250204a0. 1974Natur.250..204G . 4225026 .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1974 . On the Possibility of Spectral Classification of Stars by their Ultraviolet Spectrograms . Astronomy and Astrophysics . 35 . 493 . 1974A&A....35..493G .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1974 . A Group of Ultraviolet Stars in Auriga . The Observatory . 94 . 293 . 1974Obs....94..293G .
• Gurzadyan . G. A. . 1974 . An interesting ultraviolet star discovered by Orion-2 . Astrophysics . 10 . 3. 236–240 . 10.1007/bf01001556. 1974Ap.....10..236G . 123076416 .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1975 . Orion-2: First Scientific Results . Space Science Reviews . 18 . 1. 95–139 . 10.1007/bf00350198. 1975SSRv...18...95G . 122878633 .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . Rustambekova . S.S. . 1975 . Silicon-rich stellar envelope? . Nature . 254 . 5498. 311–312 . 10.1038/254311a0. 1975Natur.254..311G . 4197408 .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1975 . Ultraviolet Chromospheric Lines in the Spectra of Late-Type Stars . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 172 . 3. 617–621 . 10.1093/mnras/172.3.617. 1975MNRAS.172..617G . free.
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1975 . Ultraviolet Spectrophotometry of the Emission Star SAO 0400183 . Astronomy and Astrophysics . 39 . 213 . 1975A&A....39..213G .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1975 . The Ultraviolet Spectrum of Planetary Nebula IC 2149 . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 172 . 249–256 . 10.1093/mnras/172.1.249. 1975MNRAS.172..249G . free .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1975 . Ultraviolet Continuous spectra of gamma Cassiopea . Astronomy and Astrophysics . 40 . 447–450 . 1975A&A....40..447G .
• Gurzadyan . G. A. . 1975 . Orion 2: first scientific results . Vestnik Akad. Nauk SSSR . 1 . 13–24 . 1975VeSSR...1...13G .
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1976 . Two-photon emission in planetary nebula IC 2149 . Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific . 88 . 891 . 10.1086/130041.
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . Jarakyan . A.L. . Krmoyan . M.N. . Kashin . A.L. . Loretsyan . G.M. . Ohanesyan . J.B. . 1976 . Space astrophysical observatory Orion-2 . Astrophysics and Space Science . 40 . 2. 393–446 . 10.1007/BF00640454 . 1976Ap&SS..40..393G. 119454166 .
• Gurzadyan . G. A. . 1977 . A high-power orbital telescope: What a telescope with a three-meter mirror carried into space can give to science . Vestnik Akad. Nauk SSSR . 12 . 80–90 . 1977VeSSR..12...80G .
• Gurzadyan, G. A., Ultraviolet observations of planetary nebulae, Planetary nebulae. Observations and theory, Proc. IAU Symp.76, Ed.Y.Terzian, p. 79, Dordrecht, D.Reidel Publ., 1978.
• Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1979 . Ultraviolet Spectra of Planetary Nebulae . Vistas in Astronomy . 23 . 1. 45–67 . 10.1016/0083-6656(79)90007-2. 1979VA.....23...45G .
• Ambartsumian V.A. (ed) Gurzadyan, G.A.; Raushenbach, B.V.; Feoktistov, K.P.; Klimuk, P.I.; Lebedev, V.V.; Maksimenko, A.P.; Gorshkov, K.A.; Savchenko, S.A.; Baryshnikov, G.K.; Pachomov, A.I.; Antonov, V.V.; Kashin, A.L.; Loretsian, G.M.; Gasparyan, O.N.; Chabrov, G.I.; Ohanesian, J.B.; Tsybin, S.P.; Rustambekova, S.S.; Epremian, R.A. Observatory in space "SOYUZ-13"-"ORION-2" . "Mashinostroenie" Publ, Moscow, 1984 (monograph, in Russian).
• Gurzadyan G.A, Ohanesyan, J.B., Rustambekova, S.S. & Epremian, R.A., Catalogue of 900 Faint Star Ultraviolet Spectra, Publ. Armenian Acad. Sci, Yerevan, 1985.
• Oberg . J . 1977 . Notes on Soviet space astronomy . Sky & Telescope . 53 . 92 . 1977S&T....53...92O .
• Abt . H.A. . 1978 . Spectral types in Gurzadyan's clustering in Auriga . Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific . 90 . 555 . 10.1086/130383 . 1978PASP...90..555A. free .
• Furniss, T., Manned Spaceflight Log, Jane's, London, 1986.
• Davies, J. K., Astronomy from Space, PRAXIS Publishing, Chichester, 2002.

External links

• Garni Space museum

Notes and References

1. Gurzadyan . G.A . Ohanesyan . J.B. . 1972 . Observed Energy Distribution of alpha Lyra and beta Cen at 2000-3800 Å . Nature . 239 . 5367. 90 . 10.1038/239090a0. 1972Natur.239...90G . free .
2. Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1974 . Ultraviolet spectra of Capella . Nature . 250 . 5463. 204–205 . 10.1038/250204a0. 1974Natur.250..204G . 4225026 .
3. Gurzadyan . G.A. . 1976 . Two-photon emission in planetary nebula IC 2149 . Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific . 88 . 891 . 10.1086/130041 .