Alexander Aronowitsch Gurstein

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Alexander Aronowitsch Gurstein ( Russian Александр Аронович Гурштейн ; born February 21, 1937 in Moscow ; † April 3, 2020 in Colorado ) was a Soviet or Russian astronomer , astrometrician , archaeoastronomer and university professor .

Life

Gurstein's father Aron Scheftelewitsch Gurstein (1895–1941) was a Yiddish literary critic and a member of the Union of Writers of the USSR since it was founded in 1934. The mother, Jelena Vasilyevna, née Resnikowa (1907–1992) was a journalist .

From 1952 Gurstein took part in the working group of the Moscow Planetarium . After leaving school with a silver medal in 1954 he studied at the Geodesy - Faculty of the Moscow Engineering Institute of Geodesy, Aerial Photography and Cartography (MIIGAiK, now Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography). After completing his studies in 1959 with honors and the recommendation for an aspiration after two years, he began work at the Sternberg Institute for Astronomy (GAISCH) at Lomonossow University Moscow (MGU) with observations with the zenith telescope STL-180. He also took part in teaching. In 1961 he began his apprenticeship at the chair of astronomy at MIIGAiK with Vladimir Vladimirovich Podobed with a topic corresponding to his work in GAISCH. At the end of the aspirantur in December 1964 he presented his dissertation with the investigation of some sources of systematic observation errors at the zenith telescope, after their successful defense at the GAISCh in February 1965 he was promoted to the candidate of the physical-mathematical sciences .

After completing his apprenticeship, Gurstein joined Sergei Pavlovich Koroljows Space Development Center (now RKK Energija ) in Podlipki (now Koroljow ) as a senior engineer . He was in close contact with Sergei Koroljow and continued to work with the Juri Naumowitsch Lipskis department of GAISCH. He was actively involved in the Lunik mission .

In 1966 he moved to the new Institute for Space Research (IKI) of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (AN-SSSR) in Moscow, where he rose to the position of laboratory manager. A significant part of his work under Alexander Pavlovich Vinogradov related to the automated missiles for flights to the moon developed by the Georgi Nikolajewitsch Babakins company . In 1980 he successfully defended his dissertation on astrometric aspects of securing space flights of automated missiles to the moon in the Pulkowo Astronomical Observatory of the AN-SSSR , whereupon he received his doctorate in physical-mathematical sciences .

After the moon flights ceased in 1981, Gurstein was transferred to the Institute for the History of Natural Science and Technology (now the Wawilow Institute for the History of Natural Science and Technology) of the AN-SSSR. There he dealt with the history of astronomy and space research and rose to become Scientific Vice Director of the institute. He was chairman of the History of Astronomy Section of the Soviet National Association for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. In his later years he dealt with the formation of the constellations and the zodiac and published about it in American Scientist , Sky & Telescope and other magazines.

In 1995, Gurstein was invited to Mesa State College as a visiting professor. Since then he has lived and worked in Grand Junction, Colorado . He was a member of the International Astronomical Union and in 1997 was elected Vice-President of the Commission for the History of Astronomy. On his initiative there was the International Year of Astronomy 2009 . In 2010 he retired for health reasons. In his autobiography he described his work at the beginning of the cosmic age. In the form of a novel , he wrote a chronicle of the astronomers in the time of Louis XIV.

Gurstein died in the spring of 2020 at the age of 83 years in Colorado .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obituary from legacy.com
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Публичная библиотека: Александр Аронович Гурштейн (accessed January 26, 2019).
  3. ↑ a b c d e Istorija Geodesii: Гурштейн, Александр Аронович (accessed January 26, 2019).
  4. ↑ HJSmith, AAGurshtein, W.Mendell: International Manned Lunar Base: Beginning the 21st century in Space . In: Science & Global Security . tape 2 , 1991, p. 209-233 .
  5. ↑ Gurshtein AA: On the Origin of the Zodiacal Constellations . In: Vistas in Astronomy . tape 36 , 1993, pp. 171-190 .
  6. Jump up ↑ Gurshtein AA: The Great Pyramids of Egypt as Sanctuaries Commemorating the Origin of the Zodiac: An Analysis of Astronomical Evidence . In: Physics-Doklady . tape 41 , no. 5 , 1996, pp. 228-232 .
  7. ↑ Gurshtein AA: Did the pre-Indo-Europeans Influence the Formation of the Western Zodiac? In: Journal of Indo-European Studies . tape 33 , no. 1 & 2 , 2005 ( [1] accessed January 26, 2019).
  8. ↑ Gurshtein, AA: The Puzzle of the Western Zodiac: Its Wisdom and Evolutionary Leaps. A Painful Ascent to the Truth . AuthorHouse, 2017, ISBN 978-1-5462-1901-9 ( [2] accessed January 26, 2019).
  9. ↑ Гурштейн А. А .: Московский астроном на заре космического века: автобиогр. заметки А. А. Гурштейна . НЦССХ им. А. Н. Бакулева РАМН, Moscow 2012, ISBN 978-5-7982-0293-5 ( [3] accessed January 26, 2019).
  10. ↑ Александр Гурштейн: Звезды Парижа. Роман-хроника из жизни астрономов времен Людовика XIV . 2016 ( [4] accessed on January 26, 2019).
personal data
SURNAME Gurstein, Alexander Aronowitsch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Гурштейн, Александр Аронович (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Soviet or Russian astronomer and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH February 21, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Moscow
DATE OF DEATH April 3, 2020
Place of death Colorado