Artjärvi observatory gives unobstructed view of sky
Dark countryside allows stargazers to see galaxies billions of light years away
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By Kari Kiuru
The northeast of the rural municipality of Artjärvi in the south of Finland has what amounts to heaven on earth for star-gazers.
"This is a four-star location. We have sturdy log buildings and a telescope that allows us to look into the sky to a distance of four billion light years. We will no longer need to shiver in an observatory tower, once the connections to the observation centre are ready", says local resident Jukka-Pekka Teitto.
Teitto is the unpaid project secretary of the Ursa Astronomical Association. He has seen to it that the association now has a new observatory in the rural area where there are no neighbours close by.
"The small amount of light pollution in Artjärvi offers an environment for observing stars that differs completely from the observatory in Helsinki's Kaivopuisto Park." He adds that there are no more than five similar facilities open to amateur astronomy enthusiasts in Europe.
Ursa had been planning to set up a new observatory since the 1970s, but it was only in this decade that enough money was raised.
The first phase of the project was completed last summer at a cost of EUR 250,000. The European Union provided a grant that covered 69 per cent of the cost. The remainder is divided between Ursa and the Municipality of Artjärvi.
In return for the cooperation, Ursa has promised that Artjärvi, a community with a population of about 1,500, will have an asteroid named after it, once such an object is discovered.
Teitto says that news of the new observatory has already spread among hobbyists.
"We have had visitors all the way from Japan and Alaska. We have a windowless room in the sleeping quarters for foreign guests, so that they might sleep better in the sunlit summer nights."
The second phase of the project will be completed next summer. It will cost about EUR 150,000. After that, there will be four telescopes, allowing visibility to about seven billion light years. It will be possible to examine an area on the moon roughly the size of a small farm in Finland.
In addition to Ursa members and guests, schools are to be given access to the Artjärvi observatory, where the pupils can get hands-on experience to advance their science curriculum.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 8.1.2006
KARI KIURU / Helsingin Sanomat
kari.kiuru@sanoma.fi
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| 16.1.2007 - THIS WEEK |
 Artjärvi observatory gives unobstructed view of sky |
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