“The Bulgarian Footprint in Space” is the theme of the April issue of LIK magazine. The publication was inspired by the 45th anniversary of the flight into Earth orbit of the first Bulgarian cosmonaut, Georgi Ivanov, which took place on April 10.
The Bulgarian Telegraph Agency presented the publication in the “Maxim” hall in the agency’s building on Earth Day. The event was held jointly via video link in the other national press clubs of the agency in the country and abroad.
Guests of the presentation at the National Press Club of BTA in Silistra were graduates of the National Astronomical Observatory (NAO) and their teacher Marlena Ljubenova. The observatory works as an independent extracurricular unit. It is currently attended by 170 children from preschool age to high school graduates.
They study the cosmos, the planets and their movement. They observe various events such as solar and lunar eclipses. We have observed many meteors, which we plot on special maps. We soon acquired a quality camera with which the students take almost professional astrophotographs
Some of the graduates of the observatory continue to work in science in Bulgaria, USA, Canada, Great Britain. Others, like Alexander Konstantinov, see their future connected to astronomy. He has designed a machine to capture space debris and return it to earth.
“Space debris is a big problem. Even satellites that are launched for communication, when they break down, they stay there. They can interfere with new satellites or rockets that are launched. The things that are launched into space are made of rare metals that can withstand high temperature and friction and can be recycled on earth,” Alexander said.
Some of the observatory’s graduates attended Space Camp Turkiye in the Turkish city of Izmir. It is one of only two space training centers in the world modeled after NASA. One of the projects they have done there is to “build” a city on Mars.
“We saw first-hand how astronauts prepare. It was an opportunity for us to touch science. After Earth, Mars is the most favorable planet in the solar system for life. If money is invested, maybe it will be colonized by man, because it is at a close distance, it is rocky and the climate is close, said Trayan Iliev, a graduate of NAO “Galileo Galilei”.
He himself believes that in the next few decades people will be able to live on Mars and said that he would live there.
National Astronomical Observatory “Galileo Galilei” is an institution for the promotion of astronomical science, for the discovery of future astronomers and amateurs. It works actively both to popularize the achievements of the sciences of astronomy and cosmonautics, and to effectively make sense of the free time of young people. Dozens of students and citizens pass through the star hall every year, and in 20 years their number exceeds 15,000 people.
Tags: Silistra issue LIK magazine presented online astronomers Galileo Galilei
