Ivan Naumovich Yazev (; 28 September 1895 18 April 1955) was a Soviet
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...
,
geodesist
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
, and
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...
. Born to a peasant family in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
, he spawned a dynasty of Russian astronomers, including , who served as the head of
Irkutsk State University
Irkutsk State University (russian: Ирку́тский госуда́рственный университе́т) was founded in October 1918 in Irkutsk, Siberia. Nowadays Irkutsk State University is a large scientific and educational institut ...
's
astronomical observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. H ...
.
[
]
Early life
Yazev was born in Tatarsk Tatarsk (russian: Тата́рск) is the name of several urban and rural inhabited localities (towns, settlements, and villages) in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Tatarsk, Novosibirsk Oblast, a town in Novosibirsk Oblast
;Rural localities
* Tatarsk ...
, then a part of the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
, on 28 September 1895. He was the only one of his siblings to be educated. In 1922, he graduated from Omsk State Agrarian University
Omsk State Agrarian University (Omsk SAU, Russian: Омский государственный аграрный университет имени П.А. Столыпина) is a public agricultural higher education institution located in the city ...
and began teaching geodesy
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), Earth rotation, orientation in space, and Earth's gravity, gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properti ...
there.
Career
In 1926, he became an employee of the Pulkovo Observatory
The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory (russian: Пулковская астрономическая обсерватория, Pulkovskaya astronomicheskaya observatoriya), officially named the Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academ ...
, moving to the Mykolaiv Observatory
Nikolaev Observatory (full name is ''Research Institute “Nikolaev Astronomical Observatory”'', uk, Науково-дослідницький інститут «Миколаївська астрономічна обсерваторія») is a ...
in 1929. In 1934, he transferred to , and participated in an expedition to observe the total solar eclipse on 19 June 1936 in Vengerovo
Vengerovo (russian: Венгерово) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Vengerovsky District, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning ...
.
As a professor, he taught at the universities in Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Census, ...
, including at and the Siberian Institute of Military Transport Engineers (now Siberian State Transport University
Siberian State Transport University (russian: Сибирский государственный университет путей сообщения (СГУПС)) is a state university located in Novosibirsk, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the ...
). He was one of the founders of the in 1933. He served as deputy director and head of the Department of Astronomy between 1939 and 1945. At the Siberian Institute of Military Transport Engineers, he served as head of the Department of Geodesy.
In 1948, he was accused of having been a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party
The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...
and working with local authorities during the White movement. For this, he was expelled from the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),; abbreviated in Russian as or also known by #Name, various other names during its history, was the founding and ruling party of the Soviet Union. The CPSU was the One-party state, sole governing ...
, his doctoral dissertation
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...
's defense was disapproved, he was fired from his job, and then evicted from his apartment in Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Census, ...
. Despite this, he headed the astronomical observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. H ...
at Irkutsk State University
Irkutsk State University (russian: Ирку́тский госуда́рственный университе́т) was founded in October 1918 in Irkutsk, Siberia. Nowadays Irkutsk State University is a large scientific and educational institut ...
. He remained director there until his death in 1955. He is buried in in Irkutsk.
Family
Yazev had two children, both of whom he named after star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...
s: Arktur (after Arcturus
, - bgcolor="#FFFAFA"
, Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary.
Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of ...
, the brightest star in Boötes
Boötes ( ) is a constellation in the northern sky, located between 0° and +60° declination, and 13 and 16 hours of right ascension on the celestial sphere. The name comes from la, Boōtēs, which comes from grc-gre, Βοώτης, Boṓtē ...
) and Gemma (after Gemma, the brightest star in Corona Borealis
Corona Borealis is a small constellation in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Its brightest stars form a s ...
).[ Arktur (1930–2010) became an astronomer, working for both ]Irkutsk State University
Irkutsk State University (russian: Ирку́тский госуда́рственный университе́т) was founded in October 1918 in Irkutsk, Siberia. Nowadays Irkutsk State University is a large scientific and educational institut ...
and the East Siberian branch of the . Arktur's wife, Kira Sergeevna Mansurova, was a notable astronomer as well; she worked at the ISU observatory starting in 1957 and served as its director between 1972 and 1988. The Mansurova asteroid is named in her honor. They had a son, Sergei (b. 1958), who headed the ISU observatory.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yazev, Ivan Naumovich
Soviet astronomers
1895 births
1955 deaths
Academic staff of Irkutsk State University
Academic staff of Siberian State Transport University