ASTRONOMY IN BESSARABIA. PARTII.1

Astroforum is goin' international !!! Let's share the ideas worldwide...
Odpovědět
Uživatelský avatar
Gaina_Alex
Příspěvky: 1
Registrován: 17. 11. 2008, 00:39

ASTRONOMY IN BESSARABIA. PARTII.1

#1

Příspěvek od Gaina_Alex »

Thie paper is the continuation of the paper: Astronomy, Geodesy and Map-Drawing in Moldova Since the Middle Ages Till the World War I
Authors:
Gaina, A.
Publication:
Serbian Astronomical Journal, Vol. 162, page 121 (2001)
It will be published in few issues on this section of the forum given.


ASTRONOMY IN BESSARABIA since the WORLD WARI till the WORLD WAR II. PARTII


(AN OUTSTANDING ASTRONOMER – NICHOLAS DONITCH)

Francoise Le Guet Tully, Observatoire Astronomique de Nice, Nice, Cedex, FRANCE
Margarita Volyanskaya, Observatoire Astronomique Odessa, UKRAINE
Alex Gaina Academy of Sciences of Moldova, 1, blvd. Stefan cel Mare, Chisinau, MD-2001, REPUBLIC of MOLDOVA



SUMMARY A biography with the recollections of his colleagues, nearers and collaborators is presented of the astronomer Nicholas Donitch, which worked during the first half of the XX-th century in Russia, Romania and France.  A most complete list of his papers is added.
Donitch invented the procedure of the ring vision slot in spectral observations. He projected and built a number of unique astronomical instruments, between which, the comet triplet, the first Russian spectroheliograph, the autocollimated spectroheliograph. Donitch observed 8 solar and 8  Lunar eclipses . He observed the transit of Mercury on the disk of the Sun and showed the absence of the atmosphere around this planet. He observed the Halley and Pons Wienneke comets, measured the rotational period of Saturn, made a waste research of the zodiacal light. He was also a meteorologist, seismologist and a great traveler.
A survey of his works on solar astronomy, comet, meteorite and planet research, zodiacal light, meteorology and spectroheliography is given. Some of his  works are commented and compared with the actual data.
A letter and two drafts by Nicholas Donitch, found in the Henri Chretien’s Archive  from l’Observatoire de Cote d’Azur (Nice) are published and commented. Few short biographies of Russian, Romanian and Czech astronomers are included.



INTRODUCTION

Nicholas Donitch is one of the Russian, Romanian and French astronomers, which worked actively in solar astronomy, comet, meteorite and planet research, zodiacal light, seismology and meteorology during the first half of the XX-een century.

Donitch invented the procedure of the ring vision slot in spectral observations. He projected and built a number of unique astronomical instruments. Between them: the comet triplet, the first Russian spectroheliograph, the autocollimated spectroheliograph.
Donitch observed eight solar and eight Lunar eclipses. He observed the transit of Mercury on the disk of the Sun and showed the absence of atmosphere around this planet. He observed the Halley (1910) and Pons Wienneke (1927) comets, measured the rotational period of Saturn, made a waste research of the zodiacal light in North Africa. He was also a meteorologist, seismologist and a great traveler.

He was a member of French, Russian and German astronomical Societies, of the International Union for Solar research, since its foundation, and of the International Astronomical Union, since 1922, Honorary member of the Romanian Academy, decorated by orders, medals and Honorary titles and scientific awards from various countries.

But at the same time Donitch was a man of a tragic destiny. In spite of more than 125 years passed since his bearthday, we do not know still nothing about his die. His name and scientific did were censured or their significance were diminished in the former Soviet Union and Romania till 1991. He was frustrated by the membership in the Romanian Academy in 1948.  His did, the astronomical Observatory in Dubasarii-Vechi, was destroyed by the Soviets, many of his devices and works were losted, destroyed and stolen, during the World War II.  
The content of the paper is as follows:

I. THE BIOGRAPHY OF NICHOLAS DONITCH
1. A PERODIZED BIOGRAPHY OF NICHOLAS DONITCH
1.1. The genealogy and the Russian period of his life and activity.
1.2. The Romanian period of his life and activity
1.3. The French period of his life and activity
1.4. The life after die

2. THE RECOLLECTIONS ON NICHOLAS DONITCH
2.1. The recollections by Constantine C. Romanoff on N. Donitch
2.2. The recollections by Grigorii Komarov on N. Donitch
2.3. The recollections by Valentin Harega on N. Donitch

3. DONITCH AND OTHER
3.1. The nearest collaborators
3.2 Astronomers from Odessa.
3.3. Astronomers from Petersburg
3.4. Astronomers from Romania
3.5. Astronomers from France
3.6. Milan Rastislav Stefanik

4. THE CORRESPONDENCE DONITCH-CHRETIEN
4.1. History
4.2. Henri Chretien
4.3. Comment: The longitude variation of Odessa Observatory
4.4. Supplement 1. An answer to a letter from Henri Chretien to Nicholas Donitch

II. THE SCIENTIFIC DID BY NICHOLAS  DONITCH
5. THE ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS MAKING BY N. DONITCH

6. THE SOLAR ECLIPSES OBSERVATIONS BY N. DONITCH
6.1. The total solar eclipse on 28 may 1900
6.2. The total solar eclipse on 17-18 may 1901
6.3. The annular eclipse on 16-17 mars 1904
6.4. The total solar eclipse on 30 august 1905
6.5. The semi-total semi-annular eclipse on 16 April 1912
6.6. The total eclipse on 21 august 1914
6.7. The total solar eclipse on 31 august 1932
6.8. The total solar eclipse on 19 June 1936
6.9. Other solar observations related with solar eclipses
6.10. Comment: The wavelenghts for Hydrogen lines from the spectral measurements


7.THE OBSERVATION OF THE PROTUBERANCES
7.1. Solar observations during the eclipses
7.2. The photographing and the spectral photographing of the protuberances
7.3. Visual and polariscopical observations of the protuberances


8.THE MOON ECLIPSES OBSERVATIONS

9. THE PLANET RESEARCH
9.1. The Transit of Mercury through the disk of Sun (Absence of the atmosphere)
9.2. The Saturne
9.3. Comment: Some last measurements of the rotation period of Saturne
9.4. Comment: The Saturn’s rings disparition

10. THE ZODIACAL LIGHT INVESTIGATIONS BY N. DONITCH
10.1. Historical overview
10.2. Supplement 2: An unpublished draft by N. Donitch: Influence de la brillance de ciel ŕ l’horizon sur la forme apparente de la lumiére zodiacale
10.3. Supplement 3: An unpublished draft by N. Donitch: Eclat de la Lumiére Zodiacale

11. OTHER RESEARCH
11.1 The Halley comet
11.2 The photographing of the Cefeides and brightest stars
11.3 The meteorological research

12. THE PUBLICATIONS LIST BY NICHOLAS N. DONITCH

13. CONCLUSSIONS

14. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

I shall note the references on the papers by Nicholas Donitch as [Dno].
VK
Příspěvky: 1851
Registrován: 12. 12. 2008, 21:59

ASTRONOMY IN BESSARABIA. PARTII.1

#2

Příspěvek od VK »

Hallo Gaina_Alex,

it is a very interesting contribution to our astronomical knowledge summary :-)

Are you astronomer at the University of Chisinau or a physicist, student, etc?

Unfortunately, I'm affraid hardly any Czech (Slovak) amateur astronomer is interesting in history of astronomy. An if yet, it is mostly only history of astronomy in the Czech republic or former Czechoslovakia. History interessents are associated in Historical Section of ČAS (http://hisec.astro.cz).

I addition, Moldavia is almost unknown country in the Czech republic. This article is practically the first recent information, that astronomy exist in Moldavia.

I will read your article as soon as I have a bit time :-)

Vladimír Kocour
grajda
Příspěvky: 1592
Registrován: 31. 03. 2008, 00:29

ASTRONOMY IN BESSARABIA. PARTII.1

#3

Příspěvek od grajda »

To: VK:

I'm glad, that you can speak English so good to write the answer for Gaina_Alex. As well i hope, that more astronomers from czech and slovakia are going to speak english through that many of them know a bit words and have horrible grammar as me. I think, that when somebody wrote a message about a interresting article (which I didn't read ;D, I'm sorry ;D), it is fair to write one or two messages to him (her). But I can't do it, because my knowledge of english are too little. :-/ Maby the others could do it every day. ;D Maby?

Good bye! :'(

:o
SW planetary 58°-2,5/400/8,7 (f/zv/zp')
SW 1,25/2''-70°-3,5/286/15+5/200/21+8/125/34+13/77/55
SW 2''-80°-20/50/96
Hyperion zoom-24-8/42-130/72-33
Filtry:ATC-všechny barevné+FX2,polarizační OMEGON
Uživatelský avatar
mkcz
Příspěvky: 1121
Registrován: 16. 08. 2004, 08:09
Bydliště: střední Čechy
Věk: 57

ASTRONOMY IN BESSARABIA. PARTII.1

#4

Příspěvek od mkcz »

pouze dočasně: všechny příspěvky v odpovědi jsou ostudné a malicherné..
kolega zmíňuje i R. Štefánika což je příjemné, odpovědi jsou mu, že se o to nezajímáme, nemáme čas a duležitější je vyvalit svou angličtinu?
To je pravda.
Na vesmíru je nejúžasnější to, že jej můžeme pozorovat.
Uživatelský avatar
mkcz
Příspěvky: 1121
Registrován: 16. 08. 2004, 08:09
Bydliště: střední Čechy
Věk: 57

ASTRONOMY IN BESSARABIA. PARTII.1

#5

Příspěvek od mkcz »

To Gaina_Alex:

Welcome to this forum,

First of all let me say thank you very much ! It is very interesting and also very instructive reading.

Best regards

mkcz
Na vesmíru je nejúžasnější to, že jej můžeme pozorovat.
Odpovědět