Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 84
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALEXANDER PLAKHA
FOCAL POINT by Alexander Plakha
An Astronomer's Life in Wartime
Twice in a decade, the author has had to flee his home and start a new life elsewhere.
I LIVE IN UKRAINE and
have been fond of astronomy
since childhood. Until
2014, I lived in Donetsk,
in eastern Ukraine, where
I built a house with an
optical and radio observatory
on the roof. I was very
happy to spend time there
alone with space. At the observatory, I
worked on new projects for astronomy
enthusiasts during the day and tested
them under the dome at night.
But in 2014, Russian troops and
mercenaries attacked the Donetsk
and Luhansk regions of Ukraine and
annexed Crimea. After that, my life
changed dramatically. Instead of
observing the stars, in May 2014 I used
my rooftop telescope to view the battle
for Donetsk's Sergei Prokofiev International
Airport, which lay just across the
river from my house. In the eyepiece,
I watched as a shell struck a tank,
exploding it and tearing the turret off.
Later in 2014, Russian troops
bombed my house and observatory,
forcing my family and me to move to
then-peaceful Kharkiv in the northeast.
I founded Astro-Gadget there in
2016. Inspired by John Dobson and his
concept of popularizing astronomy, my
company produces affordable gear for
enthusiasts. Programmers, designers,
and engineers from around Ukraine
help develop our products.
Early in 2022, even though Russia
had massed troops near our border, I
didn't believe it would invade. I thought
Vladimir Putin wouldn't want to
destroy his own economy, lose access
to Western markets, and impoverish
his own people by plunging his country
into war. But as the world knows, Russian
troops invaded Ukraine on February
24, 2022, with massive bombing
and rocket attacks on our cities.
84 APRIL 2023 * SKY & TELESCOPE
I was in Kharkiv and
saw it all. On March 1, I
watched a Russian cruise
missile fly over us and,
seconds later, I heard an
enormous explosion. I was
evacuating our office at
the time, and my path led
through Kharkiv's Freedom
Square. Later I saw that the rocket had
destroyed the regional administration
building and severely damaged the
square itself.
In the first days of the invasion,
Kharkiv was heavily bombed, houses
burned all around, and people were
dying. We spent the first days in a bomb
shelter, aiding victims during pauses
in the shelling. I had recently bought a
house in Kharkiv and had dreamed of
building a new observatory. But I soon
realized that, because of Russia's cruel,
aggressive actions, my new home and
dreams would be lost a second time.
About a week after the invasion
began, we managed to evacuate to
Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine.
Here we continued to help victims and
began to restore the company's activities.
All members of our team relocated
to Ukrainian cities closer to the border
with the European Union, though many
of our friends have gone abroad.
I would like to return to my home
and company in Kharkiv. But currently
it's too dangerous to live and work in
the city, which lies just 30 kilometers
(18 miles) from the Russian border. So
I will remain in Khmelnytskyi. But we
do not lose heart, and thanks to the
love for astronomy and the support of
astronomers around the world, we continue
to do our work and lead our lives.
¢ ALEXANDER PLAKHA has worked as
an engineer and electronics developer
at various Ukrainian institutes. He owns
Astro-Gadget, astro-gadget.net.
Alexander Plakha (top, with his telescope) fled his Kharkiv home and observatory (above left)
soon after a Russian missile destroyed the city's Freedom Square on March 1, 2022 (bottom right).
Eight years earlier, on May 26, 2014, Plakha observed the battle for the Donetsk airport (top right).
http://www.astro-gadget.net
Sky & Telescope - April 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - April 2023
Contents
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 1
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 3
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 4
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 5
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 6
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 7
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 8
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 9
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 10
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 11
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 12
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 13
Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - 14
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Sky & Telescope - April 2023 - Cover4
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