Interview with APA by Namig Jalilov, CEO

Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory named after Nasreddin Tusi

- Mr. Namig,

- Currently, the weather in Shamakhi is cloudy, the sky is not visible.

The observation period mainly lasts from the summer months to the end of September.

More than 90 percent of our scientific workers live in Baku and are only at the observatory during the observation period.

At that time, we all go like migratory birds, but the rest of the time our activities are related to Baku.

A lot of money was spent on the renovation of the Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory.

But, as you can see, in return, we do not have a place where we can operate normally in Baku.

There is neither normal heat, nor conditions for making ordinary tea... During the Soviet era, the employees of the Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory sat in the mosque near "Beshmartaba".

At that time, mosques were not fully allowed to operate.

Part of it was used as a warehouse, and part of it was given to us as a temporary office.

When I came to the observatory, our employees were sitting on the ship in Bayil.

In addition, we stayed temporarily in a number of places, but after a while they moved us.

This is also the Institute of Geography.

They used this place as a warehouse.

We cleaned up the mess and settled down temporarily.

But this arrangement is no longer temporary.

This situation has been going on for years.

We have had appeals in this regard, and I have raised the issue to the state level.

But, unfortunately, the solution has not been found.

We have had appeals in this regard, and I have raised the issue to the state level.

But, unfortunately, the solution has not been found.

We have had appeals in this regard, and I have raised the issue to the state level.

But, unfortunately, the solution has not been found.

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- Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev goes to all institutes.

He gets acquainted with the situation on the spot.

After that, he will receive the directors.

When he came to our observatory at the end of August, I presented our problems and plans to him in writing.

Probably, he will accept all of us in general.

A general program on the reconstruction of science should be prepared and submitted to the President by the end of January.

We should look at the experience of developed countries and use that practice in our country.

Today, the scientific environment in Azerbaijan is disturbed.

Our institutions are full of non-scientific people.

ANAS has more than 11 thousand people.

Of the 156 employees working at the Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory, the number of real contributors to science is 20-25.

We will give our proposal in this direction.

If we want to revive science, decisive steps must be taken.

social pity,

It is necessary to bypass ideas such as "Let so-and-so stay until the end of his life and get a pension" and attract those who dedicate their lives to science and people who are needed by science.

It is true that today even the deputies say that we do not see the application of science in Azerbaijan.

This is a completely wrong idea.

Science is like soil.

We can't plant everything we want.

Whatever grows must be planted.

Once upon a time, Michael Faraday did not even earn a living in a basement in Paris, but he discovered the laws of electricity and gave impetus to today's developments.

In other words, the attitude towards science has always been bad, but the devotees of science have always developed it.

We have many such devotees of science.

You need to find them and support them.

Currently, our annual budget is approximately 1 million manats.

For example, if we gather 20-30, far, 50 people to the Shamakhi Observatory, with the current budget, the observatory can be built in such a way that

directly to the front lines of the world.

I will offer this to the minister with figures.

- But these proposals were not given to the management of ANAS in advance?

- I have been in charge here for 8 years.

When I returned from living abroad for 23 years, I saw that the science at the Shamakhi Observatory had become ten times weaker than when I left it, almost completely destroyed.

During the Soviet era, the Shamakhi Observatory was a school.

Nobel laureates, all cosmonauts came there, big conferences were held.

Even in the 70s, when the head of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh came to Azerbaijan, he said that "the pinnacle of Azerbaijani science is astrophysics."

Because the 2-meter telescope in the Shamakhi Observatory was a great achievement for that time.

Numerous scientists came with new ideas and participated in international projects.

That is, I left such a situation at that time, but when I returned, I saw that none of them remained.

It is true that the old experts remain, but they are also discouraged.

The situation in our universities is such that we cannot find the necessary personnel.

Young people are very weak.

The strong ones are also taken by foreign companies.

Therefore, the attitude towards science must urgently change radically.

I have suggested that we choose a maximum of 3 priority directions in the Shamakhi Observatory and select a leader from any country in the world or among local experts through a competition.

Let that person assemble his team and get the funding.

Our science is in dire straits right now.

We need locomotives to get science out of this situation.

Those locomotives should be invited either from us or from outside so that we can slowly join the forefront of science.

On the other hand, basic sciences should be given complete freedom.

One of the main problems of the universe today is the black hole, black matter, the rapid expansion of the universe, the factors that cause it.

No one can say that you have to learn it immediately and tell me the result tomorrow.

This issue is the biggest problem facing fundamental science.

Today, CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) spends billions and conducts experiments to capture the first moment of the creation of the world.

They collide heavy ions in a magnetic field near the speed of light.

True, they have not reached that energy yet.

But the main goal is to understand where matter comes from.

What is time, what is time, what is its connection with space?

Researching and finding these in a short period of time is not something that can be ordered.

In summary, scientists should define those priorities themselves, and state institutions should stand behind them.

Today, CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) spends billions and conducts experiments to capture the first moment of the creation of the world.

They collide heavy ions in a magnetic field near the speed of light.

True, they have not reached that energy yet.

But the main goal is to understand where matter comes from.

What is time, what is time, what is its connection with space?

Researching and finding these in a short period of time is not something that can be ordered.

In summary, scientists should define those priorities themselves, and state institutions should stand behind them.

Today, CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) spends billions and conducts experiments to capture the first moment of the creation of the world.

They collide heavy ions in a magnetic field near the speed of light.

True, they have not reached that energy yet.

But the main goal is to understand where matter comes from.

What is time, what is time, what is its connection with space?

Researching and finding these in a short period of time is not something that can be ordered.

In summary, scientists should define those priorities themselves, and state institutions should stand behind them.

But the main goal is to understand where matter comes from.

What is time, what is time, what is its connection with space?

Researching and finding these in a short period of time is not something that can be ordered.

In summary, scientists should define those priorities themselves, and state institutions should stand behind them.

But the main goal is to understand where matter comes from.

What is time, what is time, what is its connection with space?

Researching and finding these in a short period of time is not something that can be ordered.

In summary, scientists should define those priorities themselves, and state institutions should stand behind them.

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- Our relations with foreign institutions are quite broad.

We have more than 40 real contacts.

Currently, our employees are going to Estonia and the Czech Republic within the framework of the "HORIZON 2020" Innovation grant project, which has been going on for 4 years.

There is a general consortium there.

We participate in that team in both experimental and theoretical fields.

In addition, we participate in the GRANDMA, GAIA (Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics) grant projects, as well as in the consortium in the field of active core galaxies.

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- Our telescopes are quite old.

The largest is a 2-meter telescope built in the late 60s.

Our other 60-70 centimeter telescopes were built at the same time.

They hardly meet the requirements of modern times.

These telescopes were very good for that time.

Then we proudly said that we have the largest telescope in the Islamic world.

We have seen the results.

But now the demand of the world is different.

I have proposed the construction of a robotic telescope in Kalbajar.

It was put into the general program and approved.

It can also be useful for the development of astrotourism.

The base of that telescope is the Shamakhi Observatory, which is a remotely controlled telescope.

The earth is spherical in shape and telescopes are built on the same circle "N" in all countries.

If we connect this telescope to the network of world telescopes, we will be able to look at the phenomena outside of us,

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- The price of a 1-meter telescope together with its infrastructure is about 1 million dollars.

Modern telescopes are flexible.

They can rotate at certain angles and capture the signal perfectly.

When the signal is captured well, its resolution increases dramatically.

- When choosing an observatory, the climate should be taken into account.

- It is true that the climate has a great influence.

The astroclimate of the Shamakhi Observatory is currently not in a satisfactory condition.

The main requirement for the observatory is that there should be no additional light or dust sources within a radius of 3-4 kilometers.

But construction was carried out up to the fence of the Shamakhi Observatory, facilities and mansions were built.

At the moment, we are suffering a lot from the fund there.

When observing, you don't know if it's a space object or a neighbor's lamp... This is called general background pollution.

Also, as the road passes by, the dust from the cars lands directly on our telescopes and degrades their quality.

For this reason, measuring astroclimate is extremely important when determining sites for future telescopes.

Our joint grant project with TÜBİTAK is currently being put forward.

Engineers working there use space measurements.

It has bases accumulated in the last 20 years.

We gave them 4 points in Azerbaijan.

Space images of those points will be examined, and ground-based instruments will be installed at selected locations to measure both humidity and whether the area is windy.

The selected observation point should also be high above all surrounding mountains and hills so that the telescope is not obstructed when turning.

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- At one time, the number of open nights in Shamakhi was more than 200.

Now there are less than 150.

The climate has changed significantly.

In this regard, it is necessary to find new places.

But because the climate is changing all over the world, there are very few ways out.

Due to its favorable astroclimate, the most powerful telescopes in the world are located in Chile.

In this regard, Chile is considered the observatory of the whole world.

We have very good relations with them.

American scientist, famous physicist Roald Sagdayev often comes to Azerbaijan.

His students created a new astronomical center in Chile.

When representatives from Chilean universities came this summer, we signed a contract.

Time to use telescopes in Chile is very expensive.

15 percent of this time is given to Chilean universities.

They want to share that time with us.

This is very promising and we must take advantage of this opportunity.

Priority directions are now being determined for this.

We have also made an offer in two directions.

One of them is active core galaxies and the dynamics of their environment.

Which has a black hole in the middle of those galaxies.

Another is the process of young star formation and stellar magnetism.

We are urgently preparing our experts to learn world-class methods so that they can go and conduct research in Chile.

I was very pleased with our 4 young employees who came from Europe recently.

They have already learned modern programs.

In other words, we have established our business very well in terms of foreign relations.

I hope we will continue like this.

Which has a black hole in the middle of those galaxies.

Another is the process of young star formation and stellar magnetism.

We are urgently preparing our experts to learn world-class methods so that they can go and conduct research in Chile.

I was very pleased with our 4 young employees who came from Europe recently.

They have already learned modern programs.

In other words, we have established our business very well in terms of foreign relations.

I hope we will continue like this.

Which has a black hole in the middle of those galaxies.

Another is the process of young star formation and stellar magnetism.

We are urgently preparing our experts to learn world-class methods so that they can go and conduct research in Chile.

I was very pleased with our 4 young employees who came from Europe recently.

They have already learned modern programs.

In other words, we have established our business very well in terms of foreign relations.

I hope we will continue like this.

In other words, we have established our business very well in terms of foreign relations.

I hope we will continue like this.

In other words, we have established our business very well in terms of foreign relations.

I hope we will continue like this.

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- Neither the Moon, nor Mars, nor Jupiter have fertile conditions for human existence.

Even if it is created, it can only be created in a certain isolated laboratory form.

But this is not a colony.

There will be neither sowing nor reaping.

Everything must be shipped from the ground.

Maybe, if technology develops, if travel to the moon becomes easier, something can be done.

But currently, great efforts are being made to protect ordinary satellites from the solar wind and rays, and a covering layer is being created.

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- Landing on the moon is easy.

The main issue is how to get up once you get down there.

I have also read about it.

They create certain doubts.

But it seems to me that the human foot touched the moon.

I have no doubt that the Americans will get there.

Today, the fight for the Moon is important.

For many years, research into controllable nuclear power has been underway.

The Chinese have achieved the maximum result regarding the controllable nuclear reactor.

This is 32 seconds.

After that, everything falls apart.

Now certain breakthroughs are expected due to the development of modern quantum theory.

Controllable nuclear reactors mean endless energy.

But those nuclear reactors have a very important component that is expensive to get on Earth.

This is the isotope "Helium 4".

But the Moon has as much of this element as you want.

He simply took land from there,

certain processes can separate that element.

That's what the fight for the moon is all about.

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- Now there are debris in space, known and hidden satellites for military purposes.

They have no obstacles to ground observations.

Signals from the universe have a large electromagnetic range, from the gamma range to the radio range.

Earth's atmosphere leaves us a small window in a small part of it.

Our telescopes work in that window.

But interesting phenomena with large energy capacity occur outside that range.

The signals from those events are not in the optical domain, but in the gamma, radio domain.

To catch those signals, we need to go above the atmosphere.

That's why telescopes are now loaded onto satellites and taken out of the atmosphere.

All the great discoveries in astrophysics are due to the instruments placed on artificial satellites.

We are then given the coordinates of those discoveries and we check if there is any change in the optical range.

Therefore, the opportunities on the ground are not very wide.

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- All activities on Earth are connected to artificial satellites in space.

Space debris is indeed a big problem.

People like Elon Musk launch a large number of small satellites, and when they hit the Lagrangian point, they spin and stay there.

Most of the defunct satellites are there, and there is a constant threat of collisions with operational satellites.

To protect the satellites of "Azerkosmos" from them, a large amount of money is spent.

When some debris approaches the satellite, either the orbit of the satellite is slightly changed, or they break up the debris with laser weapons so that it does not harm the satellite.

Mostly, US companies are doing it today.

We have put forward such a project in front of "Azerkosmos".

When a piece of debris is encountered, a signal is sent and its radial distance can be determined very precisely by means of a radiosonde.

But the problem is to find the coordinates of its other two angles - theta and phi components.

This allows to determine the exact location of the waste.

There is a very good method for this.

When observing with two identical telescopes located far from each other in the same "N" circle, the other two components can be determined with the exact formula.

We have proposed to Turkey to place one robotic telescope there and one in Shamakhi.

Or let's place a telescope identical to the 60-centimeter telescope in Shamakhi in Turkey.

So this business can be used together.

Both them and "Azerkosmos" liked the idea and it was accepted.

We have everything you need to get started.

Negotiations between "Azerkosmos" and the Space Agency of Turkey are currently underway in this field.

If all goes well, we will do it ourselves.

Anyone who owns a satellite will be interested in receiving this service.

Thus, we will have the opportunity to attract additional funds.

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- True, I have been to many countries, but I have not come across such an experience.

This is just a matter for us.

Nowhere in the world do you see a star being named after, say, Goethe.

But in our country, I see that some people have stars named after them.

When I arrived at the observatory, I asked how they got it.

They said that we wrote to the International Astronomical Society, we asked for it, and they gave it to us.

Then I saw on the Internet that it is possible to do it with money.

For example, if you want, we can also name an object for you.

However, it is wrong to trivialize science in this way.

I think it is unnecessary.

But there are also useful aspects.

During the Soviet era, large craters on Mars were first discovered in our observatory.

Nadir Ibrahimov found it, and then they asked you to take it into account when giving a name.

They named the crater after Nadir Ibrahimov.

We are proud of it.

But there are many other artificial things.

- In 1977, the gold plate sent into space by NASA's "Voyager 1" satellite contains the composition "Chahargah Ahangi" played by Kamil Jalilov with the balaban.

How did it end?

Now where is that performance?

– Other coded signals were also sent into space.

But there is no news from any of those sent.

It was sent to see if there were other civilizations.

There are probably such civilizations.

It cannot be.

There are billions of systems like the solar system in our galaxy.

How did it happen that life happened to us?!

It is highly probable that there are other civilizations.

But there is no proof.

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- There are still various accusations.

For example, the composition of our council for the protection of scientific works consists of 12 people.

4 of them are from us, and 8 are the best specialists of Russia and Ukraine.

But they write to the Higher Attestation Commission that they are illiterate, AAK is corrupt, and Jalilov is collecting money there.

This conversation has been going on since I came here.

Maybe I fired 7-8 people because of slander.

They are people who do not want development.

Shamakhi Observatory has property, several cottages, guest houses, and there are five-story buildings built for our employees.

But there are many who are eyeing it.

From January to the end of this year, most of our time was devoted to the struggle to protect that property.

They want to divide the observatory and buy its land.

Is this going to be destroyed?!

Why are you ordering and dividing the land here?!

If the director doesn't like it,

reprimand him, fire him, if he has committed a crime, take him to court.

Our job is to fight them.

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- They are also our personnel.

We work together.

We give the calendar when the moment approaches.

They gave it a bit too soon.

We were waiting for the last eclipse.

And they gave before the eclipse.

Usually, the predictions for the next year are given after the last eclipse of the current year.

As for the entry time of the chapters, this is informative.

Photo - Ilkin Nabiyev © APA group