Site of what was formerly the world's largest single-mirror optical telescope, with a mirror of 6 m/19.7 ft diameter, in the Caucasus Mountains of Russia. At the same site is the RATAN 600 radio telescope, consisting of radio reflectors in a circle of 600 m/2,000 ft diameter. Both instruments are operated by the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg.
The quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, symbolizes freedom. The blue bands stand for the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The weapons represent the defence of liberty. Effective date: 15 September 1968.