Where is Shenzhen Observatory?

The astronomical observation system project in Xichong, South Australia has been completed, which can provide meteorological support services for the Universiade.

For many astronomy enthusiasts, it is a pity that there is no observatory in Shenzhen. The reporter learned from the municipal construction department that the Shenzhen astronomical observation system project has been completed, and Shenzhen people have their first regular observatory, which has filled the public's regrets.

Located in South Australia, the astronomical observation conditions are good.

Yesterday, the reporter went to Biyan, Xichongchuan, Nan 'ao Street, Longgang District, the planned Dapeng Peninsula National Geopark, to visit the newly completed Shenzhen astronomical observation system project. The engineer of the Municipal Construction Department introduced that the project has been successfully completed and passed the completion acceptance, and is ready to be handed over to the Municipal Meteorological Bureau.

The urban astronomical observation system project covers an area of 29,763 square meters, with an estimated investment of 24 million yuan. It consists of uphill roads, buildings and supporting facilities, surrounded by green hills, and the sky is high and the clouds are light. It is far away from the city, and there is no influence of city lights at night, which can provide better astronomical observation conditions. Park Road includes a mountain park road about 2 kilometers long and 4 meters wide, with stone steps of about 1200 meters; The buildings on the mountain include astronomical observation field, astronomical business center and business duty center, and will be equipped with astronomical telescopes, solar telescopes, spectrometers, solar radiation observation systems, radio telescopes, network communication systems and other equipment, which are currently being purchased.

Will provide services for the Universiade.

According to the meteorological department, the project is a comprehensive observation base integrating astronomical observation, meteorological observation, ocean observation, academic research and popular science education. After it is put into operation, it can continuously monitor all kinds of astronomical meteorology in Shenzhen with high precision, which is conducive to monitoring all kinds of climate changes in Shenzhen, slowing down the impact of weather events on citizens' health and ecological environment, and improving the ability of high-tech fields such as modern communication, navigation, TV transmission and power transmission in Shenzhen to cope with disaster weather.

Compared with the detection instruments set by national standard stations according to national standards, this project has a number of "optional" actions, including marine, land, lightning and other monitoring projects. Especially during the Universiade, it can provide different meteorological information for sports events such as rowing and beach volleyball, and become a supporting meteorological service project for the Universiade.

The completion of this project will be of great significance to the popularization of astronomical knowledge among Shenzhen citizens. On the premise of professional monitoring, it will be limited to the public, and an online observatory system will be established to let the public know about astronomical observations online.

Venue: Biyan, Xichongchuan, Nan 'ao Street

Covering area: 29,763 square meters

Buildings on the mountain: astronomical observation field, astronomical business center and business duty center.

Investment: 24 million yuan

Function: High-precision continuous monitoring of various astronomical meteorology in Shenzhen.

skill

List of major observatories in China

The location of Taiwan Province's name

Shanghai Observatory, Xujiahui, Shanghai

Yushan, Songjiang County, Shanghai

Yunnan Observatory, Kunming City, Yunnan Province

Shaanxi Observatory, Lintong County, Shaanxi Province

Beijing Observatory Beijing Shahe Workstation

Nanjing Zijinshan Observatory, Jiangsu Province

Taipei observatory Taipei yuanshan

Text/Figure Yangcheng Evening News reporter Shi Hua

Communicator merlin

On September 2nd, Shenzhen Xiyong Observatory, the first observatory in South China, was completed and put into use, which presented a generous gift for the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. What are the characteristics of this observatory compared with other observatories in China? What are the functions after running? Can citizens enter the tour? Yangcheng Evening News reporter took a look at Xiyong Observatory before it was officially opened.

Roof telescope can automatically observe the sky.

On August 3 1 day, the reporter came to Xiyong Observatory. Looking from a distance at the foot of the mountain, a silver sphere reflected light in the sun, crawled along the rugged mountain road of Biyan in Xiyongchuan, a suburb of Shenzhen for 20 minutes, and then reached Xiyong Observatory.

The director of the astronomical observation department of Shenzhen National Climate Observatory told the reporter that in April 2004, representatives of 1 1, including the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress, submitted a proposal to establish an astronomical observation station, which was discussed and approved by the government and experts and officially built in June 2008. Xiyong Observatory covers an area of 29,700 square meters, including miniature models of ancient astronomical instruments and popular science pictures of various astronomical knowledge. The most attractive thing is the 60cm optical telescope on the top floor of the third floor-there is a crack in the arch dome, which looks more like a robot. The robot is controlled by the computer on the second floor. "This telescope can observe craters on the surface of the moon," said Merlin. According to reports, this optical telescope has high-tech properties such as automatic sky survey, excellent imaging quality, high-precision pointing and tracking, and network control. The spatial resolution reaches 0.25 arc seconds, which is equivalent to seeing a hair 8 kilometers away. With the help of high-performance CCD, dark stars such as 19, which are 200,000 times darker than people have seen, can be detected. Telescopes are mainly used to observe planetary systems outside the solar system and search for asteroids inside the solar system.

Ranked seventh in the country, as usual, the dome.

According to Merlin, there are many observatories in China, but there are six or seven that are really large in scale, mainly including Beijing Observatory, Nanjing Purple Mountain Observatory, Shanghai Sheshan Observatory, Yunnan Observatory, Urumqi Observatory and Weihai Observatory of Shandong University. "In terms of scale, Xiyong Observatory should rank seventh in the country. In terms of equipment and instruments, the 60 cm optical telescope of Xiyong Observatory ranks in the top ten among domestic professional telescopes in terms of caliber and observation ability. "

Compared with domestic observatories, the characteristics of Xiyong Observatory are mainly reflected in its business. Merlin told reporters: "Most domestic observatories are used for astronomical observation and research, while Xiyong Observatory is equipped with optical telescopes, which can not only meet the needs of astronomical observation, but also observe the atmosphere over Shenzhen and detect greenhouse gas emissions."

Reporters searched the world's observatories online and found that the buildings of observatories all over the world are domes, and Xiyong Observatory is no exception. Is it based on tradition or science? Merlin said: "the observatory is not all domes, but there are some triangles, but it is built on the top of the mountain." Facing the wind from all directions, the top of the triangle will have poor wind resistance and less stress. In addition, there will be a slit at the top of the dome building, which is convenient for telescope observation after the skylight is opened. Because the circle is 360 degrees, it can only be used to observe the whole sky. "

Exquisite site selection and low cost.

Xiyong Observatory is 75 kilometers away from the urban area, and the mountain roads along the way are rugged, which is very inconvenient for citizens who want to visit. Merlin explained that the site selection was decided after field investigation by experts. "The location of the Observatory is first of all high altitude, less light pollution, and far away from urban areas, industrial areas and tall buildings. The temperature around the observatory should not be too high, and the temperature difference should not be too large. Like the asphalt road in the urban area, water vapor jitter will occur, so it is impossible to build an observatory. The Chuanbiyan area is more in line with the conditions for building an observatory. "

The total investment of Xiyong Observatory is 62.46 million yuan. Merlin admits that the telescope itself is expensive. "Take Xiyong 60 cm optical telescope as an example. Now the cost is between 65.438+0.5 million yuan and 2 million yuan, while the LAMOST telescope of Beijing Observatory is as high as/kloc-0.0 billion yuan, and the advanced foreign Hubble telescope is as high as 2.5 billion pounds."

In addition to the high cost of astronomical telescopes, site selection is also an important factor affecting the Observatory. "Located at the top of Biyan Mountain in West Yongchuan, the cost is high. If you choose Lianhua Mountain in the city, the cost will be much lower, but it is not conducive to the observation of the observatory. " Merlin told reporters that the three best observatories recognized in the world are all located at the top of the mountain, and the Monaque Asian Observatory in Hawaii is 4206 meters above sea level; The European Southern Observatory in Chile is nearly 3,000 meters above sea level; The Canary Islands Observatory in the Atlantic Ocean is also at the top of the mountain at an altitude of 2426 meters. Comparatively speaking, the cost of Xiyong Observatory is still relatively low. Why not increase investment and build a better observatory? Merlin said frankly: "If we invest billions more, it will be almost the same as the current observation ability. The existing observation conditions in Shenzhen can not be improved by increasing investment. "

Meteorology is a feature, serving the Universiade.

Xiyong Observatory is the first astronomical observation system in South China, and it is also the first observatory in China that combines astronomical and meteorological observation, field observation and network virtual observation. Upon completion, the astronomical observation base and the maritime meteorological detection platform will provide relevant meteorological information services for the Universiade. After the Universiade, the astronomical observation base and the offshore meteorological observation platform will be put into use as permanent observation stations to complete urban meteorological, astronomical, marine and geological observation tasks.

Mao Xia, deputy director of Shenzhen Meteorological Bureau, said earlier that the astronomical observation system project is a meteorological supporting service project of 201kloc-0/Shenzhen Universiade, which consists of uphill roads and buildings. Compared with the detection instruments set by national standard stations according to national standards, this project has several "optional" actions, including marine, land, lightning and other monitoring projects. Especially during the Universiade, it can provide different meteorological information for sports events such as rowing and beach volleyball, and become a supporting meteorological service project for the Universiade.

The reporter was informed that autumn and winter are the best seasons for astronomical observation. According to the geographical location of Shenzhen, Xiyong Observatory will plan to organize three astronomical popular science observation activities in the second half of the year, including Jupiter observation photography and Gemini meteor shower observation. In view of the limited venue conditions and remote location, the Observatory will organize astronomical science popularization activities by appointment. About 20-30 citizens can participate in each observation of popular science activities, and more citizens and enthusiasts can share the observed astronomical phenomena through the website. Merlin told reporters: "At that time, astronomy enthusiasts can watch the live broadcast online, or they can receive the astronomical video shooting signal source provided by the Observatory on TV and watch the multi-channel live broadcast."

(from Shenzhen)