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We present the first results of our program of optical observations for galaxy clusters from the Lockman Hole X-ray survey with the eROSITA telescope onboard the SRG space observatory. We present the results of spectroscopic redshift measurements for 11 galaxy clusters that have been identified optically among the extended X-ray sources of the SRG/eROSITA survey using data from optical and infrared sky surveys. The spectroscopic observations were carried out in late 2019–early 2020 with the 1.6-m AZT-33IK telescope of the Sayan Observatory and the 6-m SAO RAS telescope (Bolshoi Teleskop Azimutalnyi, BTA).

We present the results of our identification of eight objects from the preliminary catalogue of X-ray sources detected in the 4–12 keV energy band by the Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC telescope onboard the SRG observatory during the first all-sky survey. Three of them (SRGA J005751.0+210846, SRGA J $$014157.0{-}032915$$ , SRGA J232446.8+440756) have been discovered by the ART-XC telescope, while five have already been known previously as X-ray sources, but their nature has remained unestablished. The last five sources have also been detected in soft X-rays by the eROSITA telescope of the SRG observatory. Our optical observations have been carried out at the 1.6-m AZT-33IK telescope of the Sayan Observatory and the 1.5-m Russian–Turkish telescope (RTT-150). All of the investigated objects have turned out to be active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at redshifts from 0.019 to 0.283. Six of them are Seyfert 2 galaxies (including one Seyfert 1.9 galaxy), one (SRGA J005751.0+210846) is a ‘‘hidden’’ AGN (in an edge-on galaxy), and one (SRGA J224125.9+760343) is a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy. The latter object is characterized by a high X-ray luminosity ( $${\sim}(2-13)\times 10^{44}$$ erg s $${}^{-1}$$ in the 4–12 keV band) and, according to our black hole mass estimate ( $${\sim}2\times 10^{7}M_{\odot}$$ ), an accretion rate close to the Eddington limit. All three AGNs discovered by the ART-XC telescope (which are not detected by the eROSITA telescope) are characterized by a high absorption column density ( $$N_{\textrm{H}}\gtrsim 3\times 10^{23}$$ cm $${}^{-2}$$ ). The results obtained confirm the expectations that the ART-XC telescope is an efficient instrument in searching for heavily obscured and other interesting AGNs in the nearby ( $$z\lesssim 0.3$$ ) Universe. The SRG sky survey will last for another 3 years or more, which must allow many such objects to be discovered.

We present the results of our spectroscopic redshift measurements for galaxy clusters detected previously from Planck all-sky survey data as well as Sloan Digital Sky Survey and WISE all-sky survey data. The redshifts have been measured for 23 clusters, including four galaxy clusters from the second Planck catalogue of Sunyaev–Zeldovich sources. The main spectroscopic observations were carried out during 2019–early 2020 at the 1.6-m AZT-33IK telescope of the Sayan Observatory and the 1.5-m Russian–Turkish telescope (RTT-150). Some of the data have been obtained previously at the 3.5-m Calar Alto telescope. Out of the 23 clusters in this sample, 14 objects are located in the half of the sky where the rights to the data from the eROSITA sky survey onboard the SRG orbital X-ray observatory belong to the Russian side. All these clusters were detected with the eROSITA telescope in the course of the sky survey during 2020. On the whole, we have measured the spectroscopic redshifts for 220 galaxy clusters within our program of optical identifications of galaxy clusters from the Planck catalogue during several years. Many of them have already been detected in the SRG/eROSITA survey; a significant fraction of these objects are among the most massive galaxy clusters of the eROSITA sky survey and will most likely enter into cosmological samples of clusters from this survey.

Results of the first spectroscopic observations at the 1.5-m Russian–Turkish telescope for the X-ray sources discovered by the eROSITA telescope onboard the SRG space observatory and identified by the SRGz machine learning system as candidates for distant X-ray quasars are presented. Seven objects have been confirmed as quasars at redshifts $$z=2.7{-}4.2$$ and two sources, which were included in the program of optical observations aimed at testing and adjusting SRGz and had a significant uncertainty in the photometric redshift, have turned out to be Seyfert galaxies at $$z\approx 0.6$$ .

We present the results of spectroscopic redshift measurements for galaxy clusters from the catalogue compiled previously from Planck all-sky survey data in combination with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and WISE data in the optical and infrared ranges. Most of these clusters are massive objects that will also be detected in future all-sky surveys, such as the eROSITA all-sky X-ray survey onboard the Spectrum–Roentgen–Gamma (SRG) space observatory. The spectroscopic observations of these galaxy clusters have been carried out with the 1.5-m Russian–Turkish telescope (RTT150), the 1.6-m Sayan Observatory AZT-33IK telescope, and the 6-m SAO RAS telescope (Bolshoi Teleskop Azimutalnyi, BTA). The spectroscopic redshift measurements have been obtained for 67 galaxy clusters, including 12 galaxy clusters from the second Planck catalogue of Sunyaev–Zeldovich sources.

We present the results of optical spectroscopy for 39 quasar candidates at photometric redshifts zphot ≳ 3 from the catalog by Khorunzhev et al. (2016) (K16). This is a catalog of quasar candidates and known type 1 quasars selected among the X-ray sources of the 3XMM-DR4 catalog of the XMM-Newton serendipitous survey. We have performed spectroscopy for new candidates at the 1.6-m AZT-33IK telescope of the Sayan Solar Observatory and the 6-m BTA telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory. Predominantly X-ray bright quasar candidates that could be used to construct the X-ray luminosity function at luminosities LX,2–10 > 1045 erg s−1 have been selected. The purity of the candidates from K16 with a high X-ray flux has turned out to be lower than the purity of the quasi-random sample investigated by us previously. We have estimated the observing efficiency of quasar candidates as a function of their photometric redshift.

We present the results of optical identifications and spectroscopic redshift measurements for galaxy clusters from the second Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich sources. We used the data of observations with the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish telescope (RTT150), the 1.6-m Sayan Observatory AZT-33IK telescope, the 3.5-m Calar Alto telescope, and the 6-m SAO RAS telescope (Bolshoi Teleskop Azimutalnyi, BTA). For the observations we selected Sunyaev-Zeldovich sources unidentified with galaxy clusters with known redshifts. The observations have been carried out for three years, as a result of which we obtained direct images in various filters for a set of galaxy clusters and spectra for the brightest red-sequence galaxies of these clusters. For 38 galaxy clusters we obtained spectroscopic redshift measurements.

We report the discovery of three cataclysmic variables in the data of the first year of the all-sky X-ray survey by the SRG orbital observatory. The sources were selected for their brightness in the 4-12 keV band in the data of the Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC telescope. They are also detected by the eROSITA telescope, which provides accurate localizations and spectral data for a broadband spectral analysis. All three objects were previously known as X-ray sources from the ROSAT all-sky survey and XMM-Newton slew survey, but their nature remained unknown. The X-ray spectra obtained by eROSITA and ART-XC are consistent with optically thin thermal emission with a temperature kT ≳ 18 keV for SRGA J194638.9+704552 and SRGA J225412.8+690658 and kT ≳ 5 keV for SRGAJ204547.8+672642. Together with the inferred high X-ray luminosities (2 × 1032-3 × 1033 erg s-1), this strongly suggests that all three sources are cataclysmic variables (CVs). We have obtained optical photometry and spectroscopy for these objects using the AZT-33IK 1.6 m telescope of the Sayan Observatory. The optical properties confirm the CV nature of the objects. We conclude that SRGA J194638.9+704552 is an intermediate polar, SRGA J204547.8+672642 is likely a polar or intermediate polar, and SRGA J225412.8+690658 is either a magnetic or nonmagnetic CV. We have also measured an orbital period of 2.98 h for SRGA J204547.8+672642 based on TESS data. Three out of the planned eight SRG all-sky surveys have now been completed. We expect to find many new CVs, in particular, magnetic systems, during the survey, and we plan to continue our optical follow-up program.

We present the results of optical identifications and spectroscopic redshifts measurements for galaxy clusters from 2-nd Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich sources (PSZ2), located at high redshifts, $z\approx0.7-0.9$. We used the data of optical observations obtained with Russian-Turkish 1.5-m telescope (RTT150), Sayan observatory 1.6-m telescope, Calar Alto 3.5-m telescope and 6-m SAO RAS telescope (Bolshoi Teleskop Alt-azimutalnyi, BTA). Spectroscopic redshift measurements were obtained for seven galaxy clusters, including one cluster, PSZ2 G126.57+51.61, from the cosmological sample of PSZ2 catalogue. In central regions of two clusters, PSZ2 G069.39+68.05 and PSZ2 G087.39-34.58, the strong gravitationally lensed background galaxies are found, one of them at redshift $z=4.262$. The data presented below roughly double the number of known galaxy clusters in the second Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich sources at high redshifts, $z\approx0.8$., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy Letters