{"id":1959,"date":"2026-09-25T08:32:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T08:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/?p=1959"},"modified":"2026-09-25T08:32:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T08:32:55","slug":"2026-construction-of-bulgarias-first-professional-radio-telescope-lofar-bg-completed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/?p=1959&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"2026 | Construction of Bulgaria\u2019s first professional radio telescope \u2013 LOFAR-BG completed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>In the coming months, the certification of the observing station near the Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory and the start of its scientific operations are expected<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-row-layout-id1959_a34477-09 > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:start;}:where(.kb-row-layout-id1959_a34477-09 > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:start;}.kb-row-layout-id1959_a34477-09 > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:80px;row-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);max-width:var( --global-content-width, 1290px );padding-left:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-right:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-top:80px;padding-bottom:80px;grid-template-columns:minmax(0, calc(50% - ((80px * 1 )\/2)))minmax(0, calc(50% - ((80px * 1 )\/2)));}.kb-row-layout-id1959_a34477-09 > .kt-row-layout-overlay{opacity:0.30;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id1959_a34477-09 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr));}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-row-layout-id1959_a34477-09 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}<\/style><div class=\"kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id1959_a34477-09 alignfull has-theme-palette9-background-color kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout\"><div class=\"kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-2-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width\">\n<style>.kadence-column1959_7c08cd-6f > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column1959_7c08cd-6f > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column1959_7c08cd-6f > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column1959_7c08cd-6f > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column1959_7c08cd-6f{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column1959_7c08cd-6f > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column1959_7c08cd-6f > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column1959_7c08cd-6f inner-column-1\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p>The construction of the antenna arrays and the accompanying infrastructure for LOFAR-BG \u2014 Bulgaria\u2019s first professional radio telescope, part of the pan-European radio telescope network LOFAR \u2014 has been successfully completed. The project was accomplished as the result of an international collaboration between the Institute of Astronomy and National Astronomical Observatory (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ianao\/\"><strong>Institute of Astronomy and National Astronomical Observatory<\/strong><\/a>) of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the company AstroTec Holding B.V., and the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/astron\/\"><strong>ASTRON<\/strong><\/a>). The facility, situated in the immediate vicinity of the Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory, will be the 53rd station in the European network and the first in South-Eastern Europe. The final stage of the process is ongoing, including the full certification of the station. The start of scientific operations is expected in early 2027.<br><br>&#8220;The completion of the Bulgarian LOFAR station is a landmark moment for our community,\u201d said Michiel van Haarlem, Executive Director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/lofar-eric\/\"><strong>LOFAR ERIC<\/strong><\/a>, the international organization that coordinates and manages the LOFAR telescope. \u201cAs the most distant station in the network, it provides LOFAR&#8217;s longest baselines and opens new opportunities for high-resolution radio astronomy. I would like to warmly congratulate our Bulgarian partners and the observatory team whose commitment and perseverance made this achievement possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery.kb-gallery-wrap-id-1959_485498-a8{overflow:hidden;}.kb-gallery-id-1959_485498-a8 .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kb-gal-image-radius, .kb-gallery-id-1959_485498-a8 .kb-slide-item .kb-gal-image-radius img{border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;;}.kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom.kb-gallery-id-1959_485498-a8 .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner .kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption, .kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom-hover.kb-gallery-id-1959_485498-a8 .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner .kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption{background:linear-gradient(0deg, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8) 0, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 100%);}.kb-gallery-wrap-id-1959_485498-a8.wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery{overflow:visible;}.kb-gallery-wrap-id-1959_485498-a8.wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery .kt-blocks-carousel{overflow:visible;}<\/style><div class=\"kb-gallery-wrap-id-1959_485498-a8 alignnone wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-ul kb-gallery-non-static kb-gallery-type-carousel kb-gallery-id-1959_485498-a8 kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom-hover kb-gallery-filter-none\" data-image-filter=\"none\" data-lightbox-caption=\"true\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-carousel splide kt-carousel-container-dotstyle-dark kt-carousel-arrowstyle-whiteondark kt-carousel-dotstyle-dark kb-slider-group-arrow kb-slider-arrow-position-center\" data-columns-xxl=\"1\" data-columns-xl=\"1\" data-columns-md=\"1\" data-columns-sm=\"1\" data-columns-xs=\"1\" data-columns-ss=\"1\" data-slider-anim-speed=\"400\" data-slider-scroll=\"1\" data-slider-arrows=\"true\" data-slider-dots=\"true\" data-slider-hover-pause=\"false\" data-slider-auto=\"1\" data-slider-speed=\"7000\" data-slider-gap=\"0px\" data-slider-gap-tablet=\"0px\" data-slider-gap-mobile=\"0px\" data-show-pause-button=\"false\" data-slider-label=\"Photo Gallery Carousel\"><div class=\"splide__track\"><ul class=\"kt-blocks-carousel-init kb-gallery-carousel splide__list\"><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-has-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-inherit kb-has-image-ratio-inherit\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/819571801_1525694389589625_5937115017933895232_n-1024x768.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/819571801_1525694389589625_5937115017933895232_n.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/819571801_1525694389589625_5937115017933895232_n.jpg\" data-id=\"1946\" class=\"wp-image-1946 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/819571801_1525694389589625_5937115017933895232_n-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/819571801_1525694389589625_5937115017933895232_n-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/819571801_1525694389589625_5937115017933895232_n-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/819571801_1525694389589625_5937115017933895232_n-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/819571801_1525694389589625_5937115017933895232_n.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption\"><p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"><span>Aerial view of the completed LOFAR-BG station<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-has-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-inherit kb-has-image-ratio-inherit\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820221609_1525694492922948_8745670834324446176_n-1024x651.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"651\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820221609_1525694492922948_8745670834324446176_n.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820221609_1525694492922948_8745670834324446176_n.jpg\" data-id=\"1947\" class=\"wp-image-1947 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820221609_1525694492922948_8745670834324446176_n-1024x651.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820221609_1525694492922948_8745670834324446176_n-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820221609_1525694492922948_8745670834324446176_n-768x488.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820221609_1525694492922948_8745670834324446176_n-1536x976.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820221609_1525694492922948_8745670834324446176_n.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Photos: Kamen Kozarev<\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kadence-column1959_8d3267-95 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column1959_8d3267-95 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column1959_8d3267-95 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column1959_8d3267-95 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column1959_8d3267-95{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column1959_8d3267-95 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column1959_8d3267-95 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column1959_8d3267-95 inner-column-1\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery.kb-gallery-wrap-id-1959_a4481e-39{overflow:hidden;}.kb-gallery-id-1959_a4481e-39 .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kb-gal-image-radius, .kb-gallery-id-1959_a4481e-39 .kb-slide-item .kb-gal-image-radius img{border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;;}.kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom.kb-gallery-id-1959_a4481e-39 .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner .kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption, .kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom-hover.kb-gallery-id-1959_a4481e-39 .kadence-blocks-gallery-item .kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner .kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption{background:linear-gradient(0deg, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8) 0, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0) 100%);}.kb-gallery-wrap-id-1959_a4481e-39.wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery{overflow:visible;}.kb-gallery-wrap-id-1959_a4481e-39.wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery .kt-blocks-carousel{overflow:visible;}<\/style><div class=\"kb-gallery-wrap-id-1959_a4481e-39 alignnone wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-ul kb-gallery-non-static kb-gallery-type-carousel kb-gallery-id-1959_a4481e-39 kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom-hover kb-gallery-filter-none\" data-image-filter=\"none\" data-lightbox-caption=\"true\"><div class=\"kt-blocks-carousel splide kt-carousel-container-dotstyle-dark kt-carousel-arrowstyle-whiteondark kt-carousel-dotstyle-dark kb-slider-group-arrow kb-slider-arrow-position-center\" data-columns-xxl=\"1\" data-columns-xl=\"1\" data-columns-md=\"1\" data-columns-sm=\"1\" data-columns-xs=\"1\" data-columns-ss=\"1\" data-slider-anim-speed=\"400\" data-slider-scroll=\"1\" data-slider-arrows=\"true\" data-slider-dots=\"true\" data-slider-hover-pause=\"false\" data-slider-auto=\"1\" data-slider-speed=\"7000\" data-slider-gap=\"0px\" data-slider-gap-tablet=\"0px\" data-slider-gap-mobile=\"0px\" data-show-pause-button=\"false\" data-slider-label=\"Photo Gallery Carousel\"><div class=\"splide__track\"><ul class=\"kt-blocks-carousel-init kb-gallery-carousel splide__list\"><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-has-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820239376_1525694726256258_8286317969460321816_n-1024x768.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820239376_1525694726256258_8286317969460321816_n.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820239376_1525694726256258_8286317969460321816_n.jpg\" data-id=\"1948\" class=\"wp-image-1948 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820239376_1525694726256258_8286317969460321816_n-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820239376_1525694726256258_8286317969460321816_n-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820239376_1525694726256258_8286317969460321816_n-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820239376_1525694726256258_8286317969460321816_n-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/820239376_1525694726256258_8286317969460321816_n.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Assoc. Prof. Antoaneta Antonova signs the acceptance protocol on behalf of the Institute of Astronomy with the National Astronomical Observatory, alongside Menno Norden and Zabet Ahmadi from ASTRON, the Netherlands. Photo: Zabet Ahmadi \/ ASTRON<\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"kb-slide-item kb-gallery-carousel-item splide__slide\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item\"><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner\"><figure class=\"kb-gallery-figure kadence-blocks-gallery-item-has-caption\"><div class=\"kb-gal-image-radius\"><div class=\"kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/821248102_1525694886256242_2756651507750523717_n-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" data-full-image=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/821248102_1525694886256242_2756651507750523717_n.jpg\" data-light-image=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/821248102_1525694886256242_2756651507750523717_n.jpg\" data-id=\"1949\" class=\"wp-image-1949 skip-lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/821248102_1525694886256242_2756651507750523717_n-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/821248102_1525694886256242_2756651507750523717_n-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/821248102_1525694886256242_2756651507750523717_n-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/821248102_1525694886256242_2756651507750523717_n-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lofar.bg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/821248102_1525694886256242_2756651507750523717_n.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><div class=\"kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Participants in the LOFAR-BG internship after completing the station\u2019s low-frequency antenna field. Photo: Yanko Nikolov<\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The rollout of the station was led by a team of experienced engineers and technicians from ASTRON, contracted by AstroTec Holding, with the active participation of over 25 students, PhD students and young researchers, in the summer of 2026 as part of a special radio astronomy internship. It was the interns who carried out the bulk of the work involved in installing the hundreds of low-frequency and high-frequency antennas on site, with the majority of the tasks being carried out by hand.<br><br>\u201cWe are delighted with the successful completion of the LOFAR-BG station and the strong international collaboration that made it possible,\u201d said prof. Kamen Kozarev, Director of IANAO and coordinator of the LOFAR-BG national consortium. \u201cOnce fully operational, it will offer Bulgarian scientists the opportunity for research in various fields of astronomy, space physics, and geophysics.\u201d The project also envisages the development of technological capacity to process petabytes of data using artificial intelligence methods, training for the next generation of scientists to use the telescope, as well as the expansion of the consortium with new partners.<br><br>The LOFAR-BG project is funded under the National Roadmap for Scientific Infrastructure 2020\u20132027, coordinated by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ministry-of-education-and-science-bg\/\"><strong>Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Bulgaria<\/strong><\/a>. The national consortium includes IANAO, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/technical-university-of-sofia\/\"><strong>Technical University of Sofia<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/sofia-university-st.-kliment-ohridski\/\"><strong>Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/university-of-shumen-konstantin-preslavsky\/\"><strong>University of Shumen &#8220;Konstantin Preslavsky&#8221;\u200b.<\/strong><\/a> Bulgaria is a founding member of LOFAR ERIC.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the coming months, the certification of the observing station near the Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory and the start of its scientific operations are expected The construction of the antenna arrays and the accompanying infrastructure&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-timeline-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1959"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1961,"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959\/revisions\/1961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lofar.bg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}