Nikonov Vladimir Borisovich General data:
05.11.1905 - 09.06.1967
Place of birth: St. Petersburg City, St. Petersburg province, Russian Empire
Studied in: Leningrad State University (since 1991 St. Petersburg State University) (1920-1925);
Key interests: photometry, instruments and devices, variable stars, AGNs, space missions, solar corona. ScD Thesis: Experience in constructing a fundamental catalog of photoelectric color equivalents of stars of spectral types B8 and B9 (1953 );
Biography:
He was born on November 5, 1905 in St. Petersburg city of St. Petersburg Province of the Russian Empire in the family of a writer, poet, playwright, cultural historian and theater critic. Mother worked as a surgeon.
While studying at the gymnasium, and then at the Soviet school, he "jumped" through the class twice.
In 1925 he graduated from Leningrad State University, which he entered in 1920 (according to other data, in 1921, when he was not yet 16 years old). He studied in the astronomical group of the department of mathematics and mechanics.
During 1925-1926 he worked as a computer scientist at the Main Geophysical Observatory in Leningrad, during 1926-1929 he was a graduate student of the Astronomical Institute (I.A. Balanovskyi was his supervisor in practical astrophysics, and P.I. Idelson in theoretical astrophysics). He did his internship in Pulkovo under the leadership of I.A. Balanovsky, where he determined extinction by the photographic method. In 1927, an internship at the Simeiz observatory under the leadership of G.A. Shayna helped process the spectral observations of Nova Orla and investigated the photometric properties of some photoemulsions.
In 1929, he defended his candidate's thesis.
During 1929-1936 he worked as a senior researcher at the Astronomical Institute (now the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences), during 1936-1944 he was the head of the astrophysics department of this institute.
V.B. Nikonov carried out a complete study of the new star electrophotometer of the Hutnik design, obtained by the Astronomical Institute from Germany from the company "Rünter and Ko", with four gas-filled photoamplifiers, which had different photocathodes: potassium, sodium, etc. Then, with the permission of the director of the Pulkovo Observatory B.P. Gerasimovicha, V.B. Nikonov with his assistant, laboratory technician of the State Optical Institute T.Z. Pedosom, made the first successful electrophotometry observations of stars on the observatory's 15-inch refractor. After the tests in Pulkovo, the electrophotometer was transported to the Abastuman observatory and installed on a 33-cm M.G. Ponomaryov's reflector. V.B. Nikonov began observing variable stars on it and tried to create a color catalog of stars as an addition to the Brill catalog (Berlin, Babelsberg).
The Great Patriotic War of the USSR against fascist Germany, which was part of World War II, found the Nikon family in Abastuman.
Since 1945 he worked at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory of the USSR Academy of Sciences (in fact, V.B. Nikonov started working at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in July 1944, and since November 1, 1945 he was appointed to the position of senior researcher). It should be noted that he participated in the work of expeditions to choose a place for the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory and in its creation. He headed the Committee for the construction of a 2.6-meter telescope. Since 1955 he served as head of the Department of Stellar Physics, and in 1958 he headed and headed the Department of Star and Galaxy Physics until 1985 (according to other sources, he was the head of the Stellar and Nebula in 1955-1984), during 1984-1987 he was a scientific consultant.
In 1930 he took part in finding a place for the Shemakha Observatory of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences.
He also participated in the selection of a site for the construction of the Abastuman Astrophysical Observatory of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR (Kanobili city), and therefore in its equipment and development of a scientific program.
He was a member of the joint expedition of the Main Astronomical Observatory of the USSR, the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory and the Abastumyan Astrophysical Observatory for the Observation of the Solar Eclipse on July 9, 1945, Sortavala (Karelia). He also took part in expeditions to observe solar eclipses in 1936 and 1941.
In 1946-1947 V.B. Nikonov in the group of astronomers A.B. Severny, O.A. Melnikova, B.O. Orlov, headed by G.A. Shain (for some time the group included V.P. Linnyk, A.A. Mykhaylov and G.A. Monin), was on a business trip to the USA for 7 months. The task of the group was to familiarize with
research and equipment in the specialty of each of the participants, as well as the purchase of modern scientific equipment. But the main goal was to order a reflector with a diameter of 2 meters for the Crimean Observatory and a reflector with a diameter of 1.25 meters for the Main Astronomical Observatory of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
In 1950 (according to other sources in 1959) the astronomer became a laureate of the F. A. Bredikhin Prize of the USSR Academy of Sciences for his work "Experience in constructing a fundamental catalog of photoelectric color equivalents of stars of spectral types B8 and B9." According to other sources, this is his doctoral dissertation, defended by scientists in 1953.(According to other sources, the Bredykhin Prize was received for the study of the distribution of absorbing matter in the Galaxy). In 1953 he received the title of professor.
In 1961-1967 he was the president of the commission of the International Astronomical Union №25 "star photometry"; in 1967-1970 he held the position of vice-president, in 1970-1973 - president of the commission of the International Astronomical Union №9 "astronomical technique".
In 1964, V.M. Mozhzherin, V.B. Nikonov, engineers E.S. Agapov, V.F. Anisimov and V.I. The parchment was held the first television observations of artificial Earth satellites.
In 1971 he together with P.P. Dobronravin, and V.K. Prokofiev received the USSR State Prize for the successful application to determine the coordinates of distant space objects "Luna-13", "Kosmos-159", "Molniya-1", "Zond-4", "Luna-14", "Zond-6" operational A.B. Severniy's method for direct reading of the coordinates of the observed artificial satellite of the Earth (according to other sources, they became laureates of the award in 1970).
He was awarded a number of state awards: the Order of the Badge of Honor for the development of photovoltaic research in the USSR, the Order of the Badge of Honor for leading the first expedition in Chile, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for many years of work in the USSR Academy of Sciences. "For leading the creation of the ZTSh telescope", two medals "For valiant work in the Great Patriotic War", medals "For valiant work", "To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of V. I. Lenin", "For the discovery of new space objects", "Veteran of Labor", "For Labor Valor", "In Memory of the 250th Anniversary of Leningrad "," Participant in the Labor Front". XX years of victory in the Great Patriotic War"," Participant of the labor front. 40 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War".
He died on June 9, 1987 in the Nauchniy village.
The astronomer led an astrophysical expedition to Chile to observe the stars of the Southern Hemisphere.
His main works are in the field of stellar electrophotometry. He developed and under his leadership produced the first in the USSR stellar electrophotometer for the observation of stars and electromicrophotometer for accurate processing of photographic images of stars. In 1939, together with P. G. Kulikovsky developed the first Soviet photovoltaic photometer. He developed a microphotometer with automatic focusing of the negative, a coronal electrophotometer, which revealed an 11-year period of change in the integral brightness of the solar corona. In 1948, the astronomer together with A. A. Kalinyak and V. I. Krasovsky received the first images of the central regions of the Galaxy in infrared rays. He created a method of accounting for the attenuation of starlight in the Earth's atmosphere.
He developed a method of fundamental photometry. He developed a method of using electron-optical transducers to photograph the core of the Galaxy, which allowed to determine its angular dimensions. He developed a technical task for a special 50-centimeter meniscus telescope, which has only a focus somewhere. He created stellar electrophotometers with photoelectronic multipliers. In 1966-1967 he led an astrophysical expedition to Chile and work to create a spectrophotometric catalog of southern stars. In the 1970's, on his initiative, the All-Russian Research Institute of Optical and Physical Measurements developed an electronic-optical image converter EPI-1 (spectracon). In the 1960s and 1970s, he developed a technical task and led the creation of an automated star telescope (AZT-11); 1960s-1980s - creation and development of domestic television astronomy. Author of 77 publications, 67 of them in periodicals (including 12 in foreign languages) and 10 monographs.
Main publications:
1. О повышении эффективности телескопов путем использования телевизионной техники / А. Н. Абраменко, В. Б. Никонов, В. В. Прокофьева // Новая техника в астрономии.- Л., 1970.- Вып. 3.- С. 28 - 31.
2. Никонов В.Б., Бондарь Н.И., Букач А.Б. Быстрые изменения атмосферной экстинкции. І. Одновременные наблюдения изменений атмосферной прозрачности в четырех длинах волн // Известия Крымск. астрофиз. обс. – 1988. – Т.79. – С.111–122.
3. Никонов В.Б. (ред.). Методы исследования переменных звезд -М.: Наука, 1971. — 336 с.
4. Фотоэлектрические набдюдения P CYGNI в 1936 и 1937 гг./Никонов В. Б.// Бюллетень Абастуманской астрофизической обсерватории, 1938, т. 2, с. 23-28
Sources:
1 Колчинский И. Г., Корсунь А. А., Родригес М. Г. Астрономы: Биографический справочник. — Киев: Наук. думка, 1986.—510 с.- С.230
2 Материалы конференции «Современные проблемы астрофотометрии», посвященной 100-летию со дня рождения профессора В. Б. Никонова // Изв. Крым. астрофиз. обсерватории.—2007.—103, вып 3.—С. 188—260.
3 Материалы Совещания по спектрофотометри, посвященного памяти професора В. Б. Никонова // Изв. Крым. астрофиз. обсерватории.—1998.—94.—С. 282—288.
4 ru.wikipedia.org
