Naum Ilyich Idelson () (March 1(13), 1885,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

- July 14, 1951,

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

theoretical astronomer and expert in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. The crater Idelson on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

is named after him.

Life

Naum Ilyich Idelson was born on March 13, 1885, to a mathematician who wanted his son to pursue a career in law. He studied at Saint Petersburg State University and graduated with a degree in mathematics and law in 1909. He worked as a lawyer for a short time, and then began teaching mathematics in high school. In 1918, Idelson received a position in the Computing Department of the P. F. Lesgaft Institute, then headed by N. A. Morozov. In this department, he worked on tables of

solar eclipses A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

for the

chronology Chronology (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , , ; and , ''wikt:-logia, -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the deter ...

of Russian history. In 1919, the State Calculation Institute was founded, and Idelson was appointed head of the group compiling

astronomical almanac The ''Astronomical Almanac''The ''Astronomical Almanac'' for the Year 2024, © Crown Copyright 2023, ISSN 0737-6421 . is an almanac published by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office; it also includes data supplied by many scientists from around ...

. In 1923, it merged with the Astronomical-Geodetic Institute, forming the Leningrad Astronomical Institute. Idelson became the director of the institute and assistant to B. V. Numerov. In 1920, Idelson also worked in the

Pulkovo Observatory The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory (), officially named the Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences at Pulkovo, is the principal astronomical observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is located 19 km south ...

, teaching mathematics, mechanics and geophysics. In 1926 he also worked in the Leningrad university, and from 1933 he was a professor of astronomy. He received his doctorate there in 1936. During the great Stalinist terror, he was arrested on February 10, 1937, but eventually, with a rare exception, he was acquitted, which allowed him to resume his scientific activities in 1939.

Life

References

Further reading