... The department was founded in late sixties by Prof. D.Ya.Martynov, who for many years was also the director of Sternberg Astronomical Institute. At present time, the head of the department is Prof. A.M.Cherepashchuk, a pupil of D.Ya.Martynov and his successor as the director of SAI. Since Prof. Martynov, the scientific activity of the department was primarily related to binary stars. ... The department consists of 15 members most of which have Ph.D. in Astrophysics. ...