Sergey Ivanovich Belyavsky (; December 7, 1883 (
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...
: November 25) – October 13, 1953) 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 ...
/
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
and a
discoverer of 36 numbered
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s.
His last name is also alternatively spelled Beljavskij (name under which the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Funct ...
credits him) or Beljawskij. His first name is occasionally given as "Sergius". He was born in
St. Petersburg and was a member of the Academy of Sciences of the
Soviet Union
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 ...
. His field of work included
astrophotometry,
astrometry
Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...
, and the study of
variable star
A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes systematically with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are ...
s. He died in
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 ...
.
He discovered the bright naked-eye
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
C/1911 S3 (Beljawsky), also known according to the nomenclature of the time as "Comet 1911 IV" or "Comet 1911g". Belyavsky observed at
Simeiz Observatory
Simeiz Observatory (also spelled Simeis or Simeïs) was an astronomy research observatory until the mid-1950s. It is located on Mount Koshka, Crimea, by the town of Simeiz.
Part of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, it is currently used fo ...
(Симеиз) in
Crimea
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
. Between 1937 and 1944, Belyavsky was the seventh director of 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 ...
, where he succeeded
Boris Gerasimovich
Boris Petrovich Gerasimovich (; , Kremenchuk – 30 November 1937) was a Soviet astronomer and astrophysicist.
Biography
Gerasimovich was born in Kremenchuk (now in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine). As a student he was a member of the SR Combat Org ...
.
List of discovered minor planets
References
External links
Genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belyavsky, Sergey
1883 births
1953 deaths
Discoverers of asteroids
Discoverers of comets
*
Scientists from Saint Petersburg
Soviet astronomers