Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Center, Radio astronomy observatory in Irbene, Latvia
The Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Center is a research facility housing a 32-meter radio telescope RT-32 mounted on a 25-meter tower for observing celestial objects at centimeter wavelengths. The complex includes laboratories, exhibition spaces, and specialized equipment areas that work together to collect and analyze radio signals from space.
The facility was built as a Soviet military installation called Zvezdochka and served for intelligence gathering during the Cold War. After being declassified in 1993, it transitioned to scientific research and became part of the Latvian Academy of Sciences in 1994.
The site transitioned from military surveillance operations to open scientific research, reflecting Latvia's shift toward international cooperation in space exploration. Today, visitors can see how the facility embraces this transformation through its educational programs and public engagement.
The center welcomes visitors from April through November with guided tours that cover the laboratories, grounds, and exhibitions. Plan ahead to arrange your visit, as tours provide the best way to understand how the facility operates and what makes the telescope unique.
The RT-32 telescope is assembled from over 20,000 individual components and ranks among the eight largest instruments of its kind in the world. This complexity showcases the engineering precision required to capture faint radio signals from distant galaxies and cosmic events.
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