Baksan Neutrino Observatory (BNO)
of Institute for Nuclear Research of Russian Academy of Sciences


BNO is in Baksan Gorge at the Northern Caucasus
(Kabarda-Balkar Republic)


Research directions

  • The study of inner structure and evolution of the Sun, stars, the galactic nucleus and other objects of the Universe by registration of their neutrino emission.
  • The search of new particles and super rare processes predicted by modern theories of elementary particles at a sensitivity level inaccessible by other methods.
  • The study of high energy cosmic rays, gamma-ray astronomy.

BNO instruments:

  • The Baksan Underground Scintillation Telescope (BUST) of volume 3000 cubic centimeters at a depth of more 300 m.
  • The mountainous plant ANDYRCHI to register wide air showers located over BUST on the area 5*104 square metres.
  • The complex of surface plants KOVER including a large muon detector, a scintillation telescope and a neutrino monitor meant for studying the hard component of cosmic rays and wide air showers.
  • The undergound laboratory of the Gallium-Germanium Neutrino Telescope (GGNT) for detecting solar neutrinos with a target of 60 tons of metallic gallium located at a distance of 3.5 km from entrance to the tunnel. Besides, there are low-background laboratories at the depths 100, 600 and 4800 meters deep into mountain..

The gallery of the Underground Scintillation Telescope

The Underground Scintillation Telescope

Reactors of the BNO Gallium-Germanium Neutrino Telescope