Matwei Matvejewitsch Gusew

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Matwei Matveevič Gusev ( Russian Матве́й Матве́евич Гу́сев , scientific transliteration Matvej Matveevič Gusev; * November 16, July / November 28,  1826, reg. In Vyatka (today: Kirow ); † April 22, 1866 in Berlin ) was a Russian astronomer The Gusev crater on Mars is named after him.

Life

He conducted physical-mathematical studies at the University of Kazan , which he graduated with honors in 1847. His first position was that of curator in the university museum. In 1848 he was already giving public lectures on physics for medical students. During the holiday season he determined the geographical location of his hometown Kirov.

In 1850 he went to the Pulkovo Observatory to study astronomy and in 1851 he accompanied the expedition of Kowalski and Popoff to the Sea of ​​Azov to observe a solar eclipse with them .

In August 1852 he became an assistant at the Vilna observatory . The director at the time was Georg Albert von Fuß and from 1854 Georg Thomas Sabler (1810–1865), with whom he was on friendly terms. After the death of Fuß, Gusew was director of the observatory from January 6, 1854 to June 6.

In 1857 he was able to undertake a study trip abroad lasting several years, which led him mainly to Berlin , Altona and Gotha . In 1859/1860 he was in England and learned from Warren de la Rue astrophotography. He received photographs of the moon from de la Rue and a detailed analysis of the images led him to the realization that the moon is an ellipsoid with its main axis pointing towards the earth. It is one of the earliest examples of photographic measurements of celestial bodies. He published his results in 1860 in the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences . In the same year he founded a Russian journal for physics and mathematics, which developed into an important magazine but had to be discontinued in 1863 as part of the unrest in Poland .

In December 1865 he succeeded Sabler as director. Soon after, however, he fell seriously ill and went to Berlin for an operation in 1866, where he died in April 1866. In July 1866 Pyotr Smyslow (1827-1891) took over the office.

literature

Web links