PROBING THE SUN'S SECRETS. INTERVIEW REPORTED BY PRAVDA, MAY 23RD, 1971. IN FULL

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Body:  Approved For ReleasePO1/03126 : CIA-RDP96-00787ROO0500130064-5
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 1'ROT_1'TG__T.13E SUN' Sr' SECRETS
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 Scientists,=df' the S'     an T sti.tute of
 ?             and   a zo-wave
 Geomagnetic    Ionos he e
 ropy . a s                                  M O e   of a
 so ar ra io-telescope.  The full scale telescope
 will be erected on a field of nearly fifty hectares
 in the Bodar district near Lake Baikal, Our
 correspondent asked the director of the institute
 corresponding member of the   SR Academy of
 Sciences, Vladimir  Stcpanos and the head     the
 r die-   ronomy laborator  G nnadV Sma   ov   o
 give their comments of this a=t er,
 ~l i3;
 Q. What was the reason for building this radio-telescope?
 A.  The Directives of the 24th Congress of the CPSU provided for
 scientific research in the fields of long-distance radio communications:
 television and weather forecasting in  the coming five-year plan
 period, The scientists will also continue their research into
 the fundamental problems of astrophysics, interplanetary space,
 solar physics and interactions between the sun and earth.
 At present the sun presents us with unsolved puzzles concerning
 its spots, chromosphere eruptions and accompanying phenomena. DurinCC
 these bursts of activity the sun emits an enormous amount of
 energy in the form of waves and corpuscular radiation.  The former
 take 8.3 minutes to reach the Earth, the latter several days.
 They cause interruption of radio communic nti.ons, severe distortion
 of the Earth's magnetic field, affect the weather and even the
 condition of human beings suffering from cardio--vascular diseases,
 The level of radiation in the vicinity of the Earth increases to
 such an extent that it becomes dangerous for cosmic flights,
 In order to learn how to forecast these eruptive solar
 processes and their geophysical consequences, it is necessary
 to have full knowledge of their mechanism and dynamics.
 Q. But there are many other solar laboratories in the world.
 A. True. In our institute we have sever?l  optical telescopes
 us to study the surface,  or
 for different purposes. They enable u.~
 photosphere of the sun,  others the lower layers of the solar
 atmosphere, the chromosphere. Using a tolescope with a device
 for creating an artificial solar eclipse, i.e. a solar coronagraph
 we can study the outer layers of 'the sun's atmosphere, its corona,
 ~-        r to the line
 However we see only that part which is at right angles
 of sight and not that which faces the Earth.  The latter will be
 visible either a webk earlier or a week later due to the rotation
 of the Sun. Optical  observation is greatly dependent on the weather
 and thcr eiorC the instruments at our disposal are unable  to  cover
 all the aspects of solar research.  It is impossible to study the
 structure, dynamics, origin and mechanisms in active areas of the eru sA~ -roves  opr Release 2001 03/26 : CIA-RDP96 OO787ROOO5OO13OO64 5 e of
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 q 1
 radio-astronomical methods. For this reason the radio teleiscope
 is an essential aid fc.r the scientists.
 The plasma in the solar atmosphere radiates a continuous
 spectrum of radio--waves, However the density of the atmosphere
 falls the fur't'her it is from the surface of the Sun. For this
 reason the wavelength of the radiation changes from a few
 millimetres near the surface of the Sun to tens of metres in
 the outer corona, Radiation of greater or smaller wavelengths
 is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, In the active areas of
 .the corona, the density and temperature of the plasma is much
 higher and the intensity of the radiation is greatly increased,
 By turning their radio-telescope to different wavelengths the
 scientists can "exa-mine" the solar atmosphere at various heights.
 The solar radio-telescope built several years ago in Australia
 is designed for wavelengths in the metre range.  Ours will operate
 in the centimetre range.
 Q. What is the radio telescope like?
 A. It is a ,-lulti-element, cruciform radio interferometre with
 two rows of antennas,  one directed east-west, the other
 north-south. It is supplied with complex electronic equipment.
 In designing the telescope many difficult technical problems had
 to be solved. For this reason it is necessary to check several
 of the technical problems connected with its design experimentally,
 This is why we built this model..  It is not a miniature model., it
 consits of a number of antennae of the same size as the future
 telescope.  The model will be used to check the solar tracking
 devices, reception of radiation,   etc. A wave-guide several hundred
 metres long will be set up to check the tracking of the signals
 received from the antennae.
 The large dimensions of the interferometer will give it  high
 resolution, in the neighbourhood of 20 seconds of arc, Panoramic
 inspection of the Sun will be performed. simultaneously in two
 directions, The telescope will give us such an enormous amount
 of information that it will be impossible to process it by hand,
 The scanning and processing of the data will be performed automa
 t:ically by a computer which will control the telescope,  collect
 and process the received signals and build a radio image of the  Sun
 every few minutes, At the same time the operator at the control
 panel will be able  to see this image on the screen of a television
 receiver.
 The radio telescope will be able to register local sources of
 radiation whose intensity is ten times that of the quiescent solar
 corona. It will also be able to register eruptions which have an-
 intensity a hundred times that of adjacent sources,  It will enable
 us to fallow fast transient processes in active areas of the lower
 layers of the corona.  This will be the first instrument in the' wold
 having such characteristics and capabilities,
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 1~ledneday~,June 30 ,1971
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 Q. What will this instrument give science in the final
 analysis?
 A. The instrument at Bodar will be used for observations only,.
 The theoretical conclusions from these observations will be drawn
 in the radio-astronomical laboratories of the institute which are
 connected by tele-type with the interferometer. In the laboratories
 scientists will. be able to correlate processes observed by the
 radio-telescope with the structure of active areas observed
 optically in other observatories of the institute.
 Finally, we will be able to construct a map depicting the
 distribution of the Sun's magnetic field in space. With its
 help, scientists will be able to forecast solar activity,
 determine -the conditions for the transmission of radio signals
 and the conditions in space, All this is necessary for ensuring
 dependable short-wAve radio communications between the Earth
 and objects in space, between different points on the surface
 of the globe and the safety of life in space,
 /:(J2,-3
 Correspo ding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences,
 A;Pistolkorsis intimately concerned with the design of the radio
 :Fe1escope. He is scientific _.x-actor of the pro~ec-i_., In designing
 this instrument we   ecelve  conslderless~.   once from the
 observatories and institutes of the USSR Academy of Sciences,
 from the Presidium of the Siberian section of the A.Sc. and
 from industrial institutes and organisations.
 Q. When will the radio-telescope be put into operation?
 A. We propose to finish working out the design problems of the
 model in the present year, said G,Smolkov, As soon as this is
 done we will start constructing the system in Bodar. The site has
 already been selected and all preliminary work has been done.
 (Pravda, May 23rd, 1971. In full.)
 p    er ~t  t?   ' C. C+~.~ -
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