Completed in 1985, this was the world’s first dual radio-optical telescope, built with immense precision using 3,600 aluminum panels. The ROT-54 captured massive flares from distant red giants, mapped radio sources from the night sky, and listened for faint interstellar signals as part of the SETI research.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, funding collapsed, and the site has fell silent now for over 40 years. It was surreal walking around the site, seemingly untouched since the Soviet days.
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Completed in 1985, this was the world’s first dual radio-optical telescope, built with immense precision using 3,600 aluminum panels. The ROT-54 captured massive flares from distant red giants, mapped radio sources from the night sky, and listened for faint interstellar signals as part of the SETI research.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, funding collapsed, and the site has fell silent now for over 40 years. It was surreal walking around the site, seemingly untouched since the Soviet days.
I also created a 2-min cinematic video of the site, if interested: [ROT-54 video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5neuPFuQggg&ra=m)
That’s awesome. I wish we had the funds and desire to refurbish this and use it again
This is so magical! Thank you for sharing