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91-531: Founded in 1946 by Viktor Hambardzumyan , it was one of the main astronomy centers of the USSR. The buildings were designed by architect Samvel Safarian. The hotel, central building and structures are for astronomical instruments. The observatory has discovered special star clusters — stellar associations (1947), more than 1,000 flare stars , dozens of supernovae , hundreds of Herbig–Haro objects and cometary nebulae, hundreds of galaxies . The first conference

182-459: A geophysics student, died at 23-24 while on an expedition in the Urals . Gohar (1907–1979) was a mathematician and Chair of Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics at Yerevan State University towards the end of her life. Ambartsumian developed an early interest in mathematics and was able to multiply by the age of 4. His interest in astronomy began with reading a Russian translation of

273-697: A "deep influence on the life of the international bodies devoted to the promotion and defense of astronomy and science in general." Ambartsumian was a member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) since 1946. He served as vice-president of the IAU from 1948 to 1955, then as president from 1961 to 1964. As Vice President Ambartsumian attempted to have the IAU General Assembly be held in Leningrad in 1951, however,

364-508: A "tyrant." Ambartsumian and Mergelyan had a complicated relationship. In 1971 Ambartsumian persuaded him to return to Armenia from Moscow and become vice president of the Armenian Academy of Sciences. However, in 1974 Mergelyan was not reelected to the presidium of the academy and was forced to leave it. Some academicians called for a revote, but Ambartsumian rejected any such attempts. Oganjanyan and Silantiev note that Ambartsumian

455-643: A 1968 paper Ambartsumian wrote that he believes in a close collaboration of philosophy and the natural sciences to solve the main scientific problems about nature . Ambartsumian became a member of the administration of the Philosophical Society of the Soviet Union when it was established in 1971. In 1990 he became honorary president of the Philosophical Society of Armenia, which was created through his efforts. Ambartsumian

546-498: A 1981 report that Ambartsumian is "one of a rather limited group of Soviet scholars of international stature who claim that dialectical materialism has assisted them in their work." Kragh noted that Ambartsumian was not a cosmologist , but an astrophysicist, and that "his ideas of the universe were influenced both by his background in astrophysics and his adherence to Marxist–Leninist philosophy." Graham notes that his "praise of dialectical materialism has been voiced again and again over

637-445: A book by Ormsby M. Mitchel at 11. By his own account, he considered himself an astronomer by the age of 12. Between 1917 and 1924 he studied at Tiflis gymnasiums #3 and #4 where schooling was done in both Russian and Armenian. In 1921 he transferred to gymnasium #4 to study under Nikolay Ignatievich Sudakov, a Moscow-educated astronomer, whom Ambartsumian called a "very serious teacher of astronomy." Ambartsumian worked with Sudakov at

728-433: A mistake." Chandrasekhar stated in 1977 that during his visit in 1934 Ambartsumian "was very free and very open. He was extremely critical of his seniors." After leaving Pulkovo, Ambartsumian founded the first department of astrophysics in the Soviet Union at Leningrad State University in 1934. In 1934 he was named professor at LSU and in 1935 he was named doctor of physical-mathematical sciences without having to defend

819-465: A result of the shelling; people were displaced from their homes. Located in the valley of the Masrik River at an elevation of 2006 meters above sea level, Vardenis is dominated by the 82-kilometre (51 mi) range of Vardenis mountains. The highest peak of the range is Mount Vardenis at 3,522 metres (11,555 ft) above sea level, located around 23 km southwest of Vardenis town. The town

910-399: A rush to publish untested theories and poorly documented research." Gerasimovich himself had a "tendency to non-cooperativeness." Gerasimovich was not taken seriously by them. When in 1934 Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar visited Leningrad, he was told by Ambartsumian, "Look here, here is a set of papers by Gerasimovich. I turn to an arbitrary paper and to an arbitrary line. I am sure you will find

1001-408: A small camera." In 1945–1946 Ambartsumian founded the department of astrophysics at Yerevan State University (YSU). He was named professor of astrophysics at YSU in 1947. He served as chair of the department until 1994. In 1965 Ambartsumian founded the journal Astrofizika (Armenian: Աստղաֆիզիկա, Russian: Астрофизика), which has been published by the Armenian Academy of Sciences since then. It

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1092-542: A study of radiative transfer radiative equilibrium." He completed his postgraduate studies at the Pulkovo Observatory under Aristarkh Belopolsky between 1928 and 1931. After completing his postgraduate studies in 1931, Ambartsumian began working at the Pulkovo Observatory and teaching part-time at LSU. In 1931 Ambartsumian began reading the first course on theoretical astrophysics in

1183-456: A theory of radiation transfer. Lynden-Bell and Gurzadyan describe it as the "law that diffuse reflection by a semi-infinite, plane-parallel atmosphere must be invariant to the addition or subtraction of layers of arbitrary thickness to the atmosphere." It has been applied in other areas, including optics , mathematical physics , radiophysics , geophysics , oceanology , "allowing people to handle easily very complex mathematical problems." It

1274-656: A thesis "based on his scientific work through that date." He headed the department until 1946 or 1947. Between 1939 and 1941 Ambartsumian was the director of the Astronomical Observatory of LSU . He was simultaneously prorector (deputy president) of the university. Among his graduate students were Viktor Sobolev , Benjamin Markarian , Grigor Gurzadyan , and others. Ambartsumian considered Sobolev his "most brilliant graduate student." Many of Ambartsumian's colleagues and friends suffered during

1365-700: A three dimensional velocity space rather than ordinary space and gave the solution in two and three dimensions. Allan MacLeod Cormack , the 1979 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine for his work on X-ray computed tomography , noted that it is the "first numerical inversion of the Radon transform" and suggested that it disproves the "often made statement that computed tomography would be impossible without computers." Ambartsumian's calculations, Cormack argued, "suggest that even in 1936 computed tomography might have been able to make significant contributions to, say,

1456-729: A town in the Vardenis Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia . It is located in the valley of the Masrik River, on the territory of the Masrik artesian basin at 2,006 metres (6,581 feet) above sea level , near the southeastern shores of Lake Sevan . It is 170 kilometres (110 miles) by road east of the capital Yerevan , and 75 kilometres (47 miles) southeast of the provincial centre Gavar . The administrative territory of Vardenis comprises 3,006 hectares (7,430 acres), of which 736 hectares (1,820 acres)

1547-530: Is a 2.6 m Cassegrain reflector , along with a 1 and 0.5 m Schmidt camera as well as other smaller telescopes. The First Byurakan Survey commenced in 1965 using the Schmidt telescope . It revealed 1500 galaxies with ultraviolet excess known as the Markarian galaxies . These galaxies are designated "Markarian" or "Mrk" followed by a number, for example Mrk 501 .The Byurakan spectral survey of Markarian's sky

1638-553: Is also bordered by the Sevan mountain range to the north. Vardenis is approximately 6 kilometres (4 mi) away from the southeastern shores of Lake Sevan . Vardenis is 1,943 metres (6,375 feet) above sea level, with mild summers and cold winters. The average winter temperature is −6 °C (21 °F). The winter lasts for six months, with sub-zero temperatures prevailing. The snow falls in November and melts in mid-April. Vardenis

1729-508: Is also home to the house-museum of Viktor Hambardzumyan whose father philologist "Hamazasp Hambardzumyan" was a native of Vardenis. Lernagorts Vardenis FC was the only football club of that represented the town in domestic competitions. They played their home games at the Vardenis City Stadium located at the western edge of the town. However, the club was forced to dissolve in 1995 due to financial difficulties. Vardenis

1820-740: Is considered to be one of the largest deposits in Armenia is located 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of the town. Many small dairy and bakery enterprises are still functioning in Vardenis since the Soviet times. The largest industrial firm in Vardenis is the "Samelon Vardeins Sea-Buckthorn Processing Plant" for alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, founded in 2000. The town is also home to the "Gnel Khachatryan" plant for dairy products, as well as many small furniture manufacturing plants. Vardenis has four public education schools and three kindergartens. The town

1911-610: Is included in the international register of the UNESCO Memory of the World program. The Second Byurakan Survey, 1974 to 1991, looked for emission line and ultraviolet excess galaxies, and quasars as well. Viktor Hambardzumyan Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian ( Russian : Виктор Амазаспович Амбарцумян ; Armenian : Վիկտոր Համազասպի Համբարձումյան , Viktor Hamazaspi Hambardzumyan ; 18 September [ O.S. 5 September] 1908 – 12 August 1996)

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2002-484: Is known for high insolation with 2,500 to 2,700 hours annually. Precipitation comprises 400 to 500 millimetres (16 to 20 in). The number of blizzard days is 30, of which 13 are in January. The summer is short, mild, sunny and humid, with minimal precipitation. The average minimum temperature of July–August is 16 °C (61 °F). while the maximum makes up to 35 °C (95 °F). Eastern winds prevail during

2093-472: Is occupied by the town itself. Vardenis obtained its status as an urban settlement in 1995. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 12,685. However, as per the 2016 official estimate, the population of Vardenis is 12,600. Until 1969, Vardenis was known as Basarkechar ( Բասարգեչար , Basargechar ; Azerbaijani : Basargeçer ; Russian : Басаргечар ). The town was also known as Vasakashen ( Վասակաշեն ). The ancient name of Vasakashen

2184-405: Is rich in water resources (surface, ground fresh and mineral waters). Water resources of the whole province comprise about 692,000 cubic metres (24,437,749 cubic feet) per day. Water resources of the Vardenis area amount to about 248 cubic metres (8,800 cubic feet) a day, of which about 115 cubic metres (4,100 cu ft) a day are subject to use. Masrik river runs through the northern part of

2275-464: Is situated on the Masrik plain, in the valley of Masrik river. From the north it is bordered by Lake Sevan, from the east by Zangezur mountains and from the southeast by Vardenis mountains. From a morphological point of view, Masrik represents an intermountain area filled with fluvial-lacustrian deposits. The major part of the town, i.e. alluvial-proluvial-accumulative plain, is presented by claysands, clays, sands, several subsoils. The south-eastern part of

2366-482: Is so, these galactic nuclei must contain bodies of huge mass and unknown nature." Lynden-Bell and Gurzadyan note that Ambartsumian was "perhaps the first to emphasize explosive phenomena in galactic nuclei." Evidence for the activity included the Markarian galaxies , discovered at Byurakan. The concept of AGN was widely accepted some years later, especially after quasars were discovered in 1963. Ambartsumian developed and summarized his views on activity of galaxies in

2457-499: Is very rich in biodiversity. The area of Vardenis is rich with metal and non-metal resources. The gold mine of Sotk is active. There are numerous types of rock used in construction, as well as mines of semi-precious stones. The Zangezur range is made up of paleogenic granitoids, volcanic and sedimentary deposits. In general, Syunik region is rich in mineral resources, including stones and metals. The mineral resources of Vardenis can be classified as follows: Gegharkunik province

2548-636: The Armenian Apostolic Church . The Holy Mother of God church, built between 1903 and 1912, is the town's main church regulated by the Diocese of Gegharkounik based in Gavar . The population of Vardenis since 1831 is as follows: There are numerous roads to different parts of Armenia passing through the northeast, west and southeast of the town. The population is mainly engaged in agriculture, trade and services. The Sotk gold mine which

2639-620: The Byurakan Observatory in 1946. It became his institutional base for the decades to come and a major center of astronomical research. He also co-founded the Armenian Academy of Sciences and led it for almost half a century—the entire post-war period. One commentator noted that "science in Armenia was synonymous with the name Ambartsumian." In 1965 Ambartsumian founded the journal Astrofizika and served as its editor for over 20 years. Ambartsumian began retiring from

2730-512: The Great Purge under Stalin , most notably Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kozyrev (1908–83), with whom he became close friends in the mid-1920s. Kozyrev was sentenced to ten years in a forced-labor camp , but survived the repressions. Others such as Matvei Petrovich Bronstein and Pulkovo director Boris Gerasimovich did not survive. Ambartsumian's relations with Kozyrev were "strained for the remainder of his life." McCutcheon notes that while in

2821-652: The Herzen Pedagogical Institute . Shakhbazyan suggests that his non-peasant, non-proletarian background prevented him from entering Leningrad State University (LSU). However, Ambartsumian explained in an interview that by the time he arrived in August, LSU's admissions were already closed. To avoid losing a year, he opted to study in the physics and mathematics department of the pedagogical institute. After one year, he transferred to LSU's physics and mathematics department. At university, Ambartsumian

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2912-644: The International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) between 1968 and 1972, being elected twice for two-year terms in 1968 and 1970. He was the first individual from the Eastern bloc to be elected to that post. Ambartsumian made "philosophical excursions", and published several books and articles on philosophy , including Philosophical Questions About the Science of the Universe (1973). In

3003-610: The Siunia dynasty , founded the settlement of Vasakashen by establishing a palace on the territory of modern-day Vardenis during the 9th century, which survived until the 17th century. After the fall of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia in the mid 11th century, control over the Sotk canton was transferred to the Smbatyan dynasty prince of Vaykunk (Tsar) in the land of Artsakh . In

3094-577: The USSR Academy of Sciences in 1939 and full member (academician) in 1953. In 1955 he became a member of the academy's presidium, the governing body. He also chaired the Academy's Joint Coordinating Scientific Council on astronomy, which was responsible for the priorities and all major decisions in all of astronomy. He was also chairman of the academy's commissions on astronomy (1944–46) and cosmogony (1952–64). In these positions, Ambartsumian

3185-493: The dean of the branch. In 1943 Ambartsumian moved with his family to Yerevan , Soviet Armenia , where he lived until the end of his life. In the same year, he co-founded the Armenian Academy of Sciences along with scientists and scholars Hovsep Orbeli , Hrachia Acharian , Artem Alikhanian , Abram Alikhanov , Manuk Abeghian and others. He served as vice president of the academy until 1947 and as president from 1947 to 1993. Since 1943 Ambartsumian served as director of

3276-539: The natural and exact sciences, including physics and mathematics , radioelectronics, chemistry, mechanics and engineering. Artashes Shahinian noted that Ambartsumian played a significant role in the development of the physical and mathematical sciences. He played an instrumental role in the establishment and development of the Yerevan Scientific Research Institute of Mathematical Machines (YerNIIMM) in 1956, popularly known as

3367-414: The "Mergelyan Institute" after its first director, mathematician Sergey Mergelyan . Apoyan rejects that Ambartsumian had a direct involvement in its creation and characterizes his role as "favorable neutrality." Overall, Apoyan criticizes Ambartsumian's role in science administration, arguing that he had a tendency to "fail projects that did not directly serve his fame." He went as far as call Ambartsumian

3458-401: The "associations have to be dynamically unstable configurations, and must expand subsequently, dissolving to form field stars." He thus argued that star forming is ongoing in the galaxy and that stars are born explosively and in groups. Ambartsumian's concept was not immediately accepted. Chandrasekhar noted the "early scepticism with which this discovery was received by the astronomers of

3549-510: The 'establishment' when I first gave an account of [Ambartsumian's] paper at the colloquium at the Yerkes Observatory in late 1950." Chandrasekhar noted that Ambartsumian's discovery of stellar associations had "far-reaching implications for subsequent theories relating to star formation." McCutcheon noted that the discovery "opened an entirely new field of astrophysical research." Ambartsumian began studying nuclei of galaxies in

3640-428: The 1960s. Ambartsumian discovered basic results in radiative transfer in astronomy. He was the first or one of the first to study stellar radiation transfer in gaseous nebulae . He devised techniques for calculating the rates of star cluster decay and the time needed to reach statistical equilibrium in double star systems. In 1943 he introduced the principle of invariance, a method introduced by Ambartsumian in

3731-483: The 19th century, many Armenians from the area migrated to Georgia . During 1829–1830, the settlement was re-inhabited by Armenian migrants from Diadin (Tateon) in Western Armenia . From 1930 to 1995 it was an administrative centre. Until 1969, the town was officially called Basargechar. The first general urban plan of Vardenis was applied in 1952. The updated plan of the town, including the community lands,

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3822-416: The 2001 census, the town of Vardenis had a population of 12,753. Deterioration of economic potential, difficult financial situation, high unemployment rates and other problems resulted in decrease of the population. In comparison with 1996, the population decreased by 14%, mainly due to youth migration, and consequently low birth rates. Currently, the town is mainly populated by ethnic Armenians who belong to

3913-552: The Armenian SSR was found. Ambartsumian was one of its original co-founders along with other prominent scholars and scientists, including Hovsep Orbeli , who became its first president. Ambartsumian initially served as vice president and in 1947 he became the academy's second president, serving for 46 years until 1993. When he stepped down, Ambartsumian was declared honorary president of the academy. Rouben Paul Adalian wrote that Ambartsumian "exercised enormous influence in

4004-624: The Armenian branch of the all-Soviet organization Znaniye (Knowledge), founded in 1947 to continue the pre-war atheist work of the League of Militant Godless . The organization engaged in what it called " scientific-atheistic propaganda" by publishing atheist novels and journals, producing films and organizing lectures on the supremacy of science over religion. As of 1986, the society had around 20,000 members. According to one associate, Ambartsumian self-identified as an "Armenian Christian" but

4095-617: The Byurakan Observatory maintained regular contact with 350 research institutions and with scientists from 50 countries. Ambartsumian carried out basic research in astronomy and cosmogony . It covered astrophysics, theoretical physics and mathematical physics , and mostly focused on the physics of nebulae , star systems , and extragalactic astronomy . He is best known for having discovered stellar associations and predicted activity of galactic nuclei . In his later career, Ambartsumian held views in contradiction to

4186-482: The Caucasian Society of Armenian Writers, which lasted until 1921. Ambartsumian was the secretary, while Hovhannes Tumanyan , the famed poet, served as its president. Ambartsumian knew Tumanyan personally. In 1922, after the 14-year-old boy described Sirius to him, Tumanyan wrote a short poem about the star. Ambartsumian's parents married in 1904. He had a brother, Levon, and sister, Gohar. Levon,

4277-680: The IAU Executive Committee canceled the assembly, increasing tensions within the IAU. An IAU General Assembly eventually took place in Moscow in 1958. Ambartsumian headed the organizing committee. Blaauw noted that "During these years, Ambartsumian, although violently opposing the IAU's policy, remained loyal to the Executive Committee's majority decisions for the sake of safeguarding international collaboration, an attitude that contributed to his election as President of

4368-477: The IAU in 1961." He continued to support it as "the world-wide organization embracing astronomers from all countries. His election as President of the IAU in 1961 reflected both the appreciation for his efforts in this respect and his outstanding scientific achievements." Ambartsumian was outspoken about the importance of international cooperation. At the 1952 IAU General Assembly in Rome he declared: "We believe that

4459-569: The Soviet Union. He also served as Pulkovo's scientific secretary in 1931–32, which involved mostly administrative work. Ambartsumian later characterized Pulkovo as being a "very old institution, and for this reason there were certain elements of ossification and stagnation. Nevertheless, this was the best qualified astronomical institution in the Soviet Union." In 1934 Ambartsumian was fired by Pulkovo director Boris Gerasimovich for alleged "laziness." Gerasimovich viewed Ambartsumian and other young astrophysicists as "undisciplined and in too much of

4550-564: The West some have questioned Ambartsumian's possible role in the terror, "there is no hard evidence to suggest that he was guilty of anything more serious than surviving at a time when others did not." Ambartsumian led the evacuation of part of the faculty of Leningrad State University to Elabuga , Tatarstan in 1941, after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union . There a branch of LSU operated under Ambartsumian's leadership until 1944. He served as

4641-502: The Yerevan Astronomical Observatory. The small observatory was affiliated with Yerevan State University. Ambartsumian had secured a nine-inch telescope from Leningrad for the observatory. Ambartsumian said that before the war "this observatory did not rise significantly above the level of amateur variable star observations. During the war they also carried out photographic observations of variable stars using

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4732-479: The advancement of science in Soviet Armenia, and was revered as his country's leading scientist." McCutcheon went on to note that "From that point forward, science in Armenia was synonymous with the name Ambartsumian." As president of the principal coordinating body for scientific research in Soviet Armenia, Ambartsumian played a significant role in promoting the sciences in the country. He actively promoted

4823-461: The consequences of the general relativity , such as rejecting the existence of black holes . In 1947 Ambartsumian discovered stellar associations , a new type of stellar system , which led to the conclusion that star formation continues to take place in the Milky Way galaxy. At the time the "idea of star formation as an ongoing process was regarded as very speculative." His discovery

4914-486: The diagnosis of tumors in the head." Ambartsumian told Cormack that he was informed of Radon's results two years after he published his work. "As well as being one of the giants of astronomical research in the 20th century, Viktor Ambartsumian was also a great leader and organizer of science in Armenia, in Russia, and on the international level." — Geoffrey Burbidge Ambartsumian was elected corresponding member of

5005-427: The eponymous Vardenis District . In 2020, during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war , Vardenis was struck by a rocket launched from an Azerbaijani drone. In September 2022, Vardenis as well as several other Armenian towns, including Jermuk ( Vayots Dzor Province ), Goris ( Syunik Province ) and Sotk (Gegharkunik Province), came under attack by Azerbaijani Armed Forces . Many residential houses were damaged as

5096-511: The homogeneous vibrating string has eigenvalues that are specific to it—that is, homogeneous vibrating strings have a spectrum of eigenvalues." It was only in the mid-1940s when his paper received attention and became a "significant research topic in the ensuing decades." He commented: "when an astronomer is publishing a mathematical paper in a physical journal, he cannot expect to attract too many readers." Ambartsumian had made an independent discovery of Radon's problem in 1936. He did so in

5187-534: The joint study of such large problems as that of the evolution of celestial bodies will contribute to the cultural rapprochement of different nations, and to a better understanding among them. This is our modest contribution to the noble efforts toward maintaining peace throughout the world." At the 1963 IAU symposium in Sydney he stated that while competition between nations is important, it should be associated with co-operation. Ambartsumian also served as president of

5278-545: The medieval khachkars (cross-stones). In the centre of Vardenis is located the Church of Surp Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God), built in 1905, where the Armenian historian Hovhannes Tsaretsi worked. The church is surrounded with numerous khachkars dating back to the 14th and the 17th centuries. Whilst part of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic , Vardenis was the administrative capital of

5369-471: The mid-1950s. He found that clusters of galaxies are unstable and that galaxy formation is still ongoing. At the 1958 Solvay Conference on Physics in Brussels he gave a famous report in which he emphasized the extraordinary character of the activity of galactic nuclei (AGN). He claimed "enormous explosions take place in galactic nuclei and as a result a huge amount of mass is expelled. In addition, if this

5460-512: The observatory was awarded the Order of Lenin , the Soviet Union's highest civilian order for its great merit to the development of science. In 1961 Ambartsumian supervised the establishment of an astrophysical station of Leningrad State University, his alma mater, within the grounds of the Byurakan Observatory. It is where graduate students of the LSU did their summer internships until the late 1980s. It

5551-407: The physicist Orest Khvolson and mathematician Vladimir Smirnov . He studied alongside other major Soviet scientists such as Lev Landau , Sergei Sobolev , Sergey Khristianovich and George Gamow . In 1926 he published the first of his 16 scholarly papers as a student. He graduated in 1928, although he received his diploma only fifty years later—in 1978. His undergraduate thesis was "devoted to

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5642-609: The school observatory the latter had built. At school, Ambartsumian wrote several papers on astronomy and delivered lectures on the origin of the Solar System and extraterrestrial life at "first in school and then in the various clubs and houses of culture" beginning at 12–13. In 1924 Ambartsumian delivered a lecture at Yerevan State University about the theory of relativity . He also met Ashot Hovhannisyan and Alexander Miasnikian , Armenia's communist leaders. In 1924 Ambartsumian moved to Leningrad, where he began attending

5733-403: The slopes of Mount Aragats , some 35 km (22 mi) from Yerevan . The first buildings were completed in 1951, though the official inauguration took place in 1956. Observations began to be carried out simultaneous with the construction of the observatory. "Our instruments stood under the open sky, covered with tarpaulin ," said Ambartsumian. Ambartsumian initially lived at a house in

5824-466: The students were graduates of the astrophysics department of Yerevan State University, many came from Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Bulgaria, and elsewhere. Several symposiums of the International Astronomical Union and numerous conferences were held in Byurakan in attendance of Jan Oort , Fritz Zwicky , Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar , Pyotr Kapitsa , Vitaly Ginzburg , and others. It

5915-434: The town sits on erosion-denudational slopes, presented by slightly eroded, poriferous basalt. On the whole territory of Vardenis there are no active tectonic rifts. The projected earthquake acceleration varies between 0.28 and 0.32g. In the town centre, the acceleration is 0.32g (8.5 magnitude), in the southern and eastern parts the magnitude reaches up to 8.25-8.5. The town is at the proximity of Sevan National Park which

6006-500: The town. The horizon of the ground waters of this artesian basin lies 1.5 and 5 metres (4.9 and 16.4 feet) deep, which together with the horizon of weak pressured waters creates a joint water-bearing horizon. The fluctuations in the water level are between 0.24 and 0.57 metres (9.4 and 22.4 inches). Water in Vardenis is supplied by "Akunk", "Shat Jrer" and "Akner" water-pipe systems. The pipes of inner system and captation are currently in quite poor technical and sanitation condition. In

6097-468: The various positions he held only from the age of 80. He died at his house in Byurakan and was buried on the grounds of the observatory. He was awarded the title of National Hero of Armenia in 1994. Ambartsumian was born in Tiflis on 18 September [ O.S. 5 September] 1908, to Armenian parents Hripsime Khakhanian (1885–1972) and Hamazasp Hambardzumyan (1880–1966). Hripsime's father

6188-547: The village of Byurakan then build a house within the observatory grounds with the money awarded with the 1950 Stalin Prize . Ambartsumian directed the Byurakan Observatory until 1988 and was named its honorary director that year. From 1946 until his death in 1996, the Byurakan Observatory served as Ambartsumian's "institutional base." In 1960 Ambartsumian secured a Schmidt telescope with 40І (102 cm) correcting plate and 52І (132 cm) mirror for Byurakan. The telescope

6279-435: The whole year. The autumn is mild, with the first half being moderately cloudy. The second half is unstable. Meteorological observations of the town (air temperature, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, absolute humidity, wind direction and speed etc.) are implemented by Vardenis-Masrik meteorological stations, established in the 1940s at 1,842.7 metres (6,045.6 feet) above sea level. The town of Vardenis

6370-399: The years; these affirmations have come when political controls were rather lax as well as when they were tight. We have every reason to believe that they reflect, at root, his own approach to nature." Vardenis 40°10′50″N 45°43′12″E  /  40.18056°N 45.72000°E  / 40.18056; 45.72000 Vardenis ( Armenian : Վարդենիս [vɑɾtʰɛˈnis] ) is

6461-420: Was "one of the most powerful scientists of his time." McCutcheon noted that Ambartsumian's "towering authority as an astrophysicist combined with his position in the Soviet establishment made him arguably the most powerful Soviet astronomer of his day." He was often the "official head of Soviet delegations at many conferences, not only on astronomy but also on natural philosophy." From 1944 to 1979 Ambartsumian

6552-453: Was a Soviet and Armenian astrophysicist and science administrator. One of the 20th century's leading astronomers , he is widely regarded as the founder of theoretical astrophysics in the Soviet Union. Educated at Leningrad State University (LSU) and the Pulkovo Observatory , Ambartsumian taught at LSU and founded the Soviet Union's first department of astrophysics there in 1934. He subsequently moved to Soviet Armenia , where he founded

6643-613: Was a member of the editorial board of Astronomicheskii zhurnal (also known as Astronomy Reports ), the Soviet Union's main astronomy journal. He was also on the editorial board of Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR ( Proceedings of the USSR Academy of Sciences ). Although the Armenian branch of the Soviet Academy of Sciences was established in 1935, it was not until 1943 that the National Academy of Sciences of

6734-464: Was achieved due to Ambartsumian's political skills, with the active support of Mstislav Keldish, the then President of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Ambartsumian also made contributions to mathematics, most notably with his 1929 paper in Zeitschrift für Physik . In it, Ambartsumian first introduced the inverse Sturm-Liouville problem . He proved that "among all vibrating strings only

6825-399: Was also visited by Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev . With the Byurakan Observatory, Ambartsumian "put Armenia on the astronomical map" and made Soviet Armenia "one of the world's centers for the study of astrophysics." By the time of his death in 1996, The New York Times described Byurakan as "one of the world's leading astronomical research centers." As of 1960

6916-564: Was an Armenian Apostolic priest from Tskhinvali , while Hamazasp hailed from Vardenis (Basargechar). His ancestors had moved from Diyadin , what is now Turkey, to the southern shores of Lake Sevan in 1830, in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War . Hamazasp was an educated man of letters who studied law at Saint Petersburg University . He was also a writer and translator and notably translated Homer 's Iliad into Armenian from Classical Greek . In 1912 he co-founded

7007-479: Was an atheist and believed that science and religion are irreconcilable . Ambartsumian wrote in 1959 that the "idea of the existence of God , the idea of world-creation has been defeated entirely." In an interview months before his death, Ambartsumian said that "God is an idea [...] the embodiment of morality [...] an idea that gives meaning to life, profound meaning, and thus, it must be acknowledged that it exists." For over four decades, he headed Gitelik ,

7098-538: Was announced in a short publication by the Armenian Academy Sciences. Ambartsumian's discovery was based on his observation of stars of O and B spectral types and T Tauri and flare stars that cluster very loosely. This is significantly different from open clusters , which have a higher density of stars, while stellar associations have lower than average density. Ambartsumian divided stellar associations into OB and T groups and concluded that

7189-621: Was declared an honorary member of its academy. Ambartsumian accepted and followed Marxist-Leninist philosophy and staunchly promoted dialectical materialism and projected it on his astrophysical interpretations. Helge Kragh described Ambartsumian as a "convinced Marxist ." He wrote on Marxism–Leninism and dialectical materialism in 1959: Dialectical materialism influenced Ambartsumian's cosmological views and ideas. According to Loren Graham , "perhaps no great Soviet scientist has made more outspoken statements in favor of dialectical materialism" than Ambartsumian. Mark H. Teeter wrote in

7280-625: Was developed by the requirement of the Ministry of Urban Planning of Armenia in 2004. Vardenis is one of the oldest settlements in Armenia. The town and its vicinities are rich in cultural heritage, with 568 monuments recorded. The most interesting are the Makenats monastery, the basilica in Sotk, the chapels of Ayrk and Karchaghbyur, the tombs of 3rd-1st millennia BC, the Cyclopean masonry , and

7371-505: Was directed by his disciple Grigor Gurzadyan and was launched in 1961. In April 1971 the Salyut 1 space station carried Orion 1 , the "first space telescope with an objective prism, into orbit." In December 1973 the crewed Soyuz 13 mission operated the "Orion-2 ultraviolet Cassegrain telescope with a quartz objective prism built in the Byurakan Observatory. Spectra of thousands of stars to as faint as thirteenth magnitude were obtained, as

7462-408: Was further developed by Chandrasekhar in his Radiative Transfer (1950). According to Chandrasekhar, the formulation of the principles of invariance in the theory of radiative transfer is a "theoretical innovation that is of the greatest significance." He admitted that Ambartsumian's ideas influenced his own. Ambartsumian was a "pioneer of astronomical research from Soviet spacecraft." The program

7553-541: Was held in November 1951 on the topic of stellar associations. On 19 September 1956 a major meeting on non-stable stars was held. It has been the site of two major conferences on SETI , and is recognised as the regional center for astronomical research. Directors included V.A. Ambartsumian till 1988, E.Ye. Khachikian till 1993, H.A. Harutyunian from 1993 to 1994, and A.R. Petrosian from 1994 to 1999. Khachikian returned as director from 1999 to 2003 and Harutyunian also returned after this. Byurakan Observatory's main telescope

7644-538: Was in reference to Prince Vasak who built his palace here in the middle ages. The current territory of Vardenis was part of the Sotk canton of historic Syunik ; the 9th province of Greater Armenia . According to traditional legends, the settlement was founded as Geghamabak by Gegham ; the grandson of the legendary Hayk who is considered the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation . According to historian Ghevond Alishan , prince Gaburn Vasak of

7735-415: Was interested in both astronomy and mathematics. "I loved mathematics, but at the same time I felt that my profession would be astronomy. Mathematics was like a hobby, but I did complete the full mathematics curriculum. Thus you could say that I graduated with a major in mathematics, but in fact it is recorded that I graduated as an astronomer," he said in an interview in 1987. At LSU among his professors were

7826-582: Was not religious. He felt that Christianity has been important in preserving Armenian identity. Ambartsumian had friendly relations with Vazgen I , the long-time head ( Catholicos ) of the Armenian Apostolic Church , especially since at least the late 1980s. In 1969 Ambartsumian visited San Lazzaro degli Armeni in Venice, home of the Armenian Catholic congregation of the Mekhitarists and

7917-650: Was originally published in Russian, subsequently articles in English began to appear. He served as its editor-in-chief until 1987. The journal has also been published since the first issue in English by Springer in the US as Astrophysics . In 1946 Ambartsumian founded the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory in the village of Byurakan , at an altittude of 1,405 m (4,610 ft), on

8008-587: Was reportedly made by Carl Zeiss AG in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and was transferred to Leningrad as spoils of war. It was completed in Leningrad and sent to Armenia. Beginning with 1965, on Ambartsumian's initiative, Benjamin Markarian started the First Byurakan Survey that resulted in the discovery of the Markarian galaxies . A number of international symposiums and meetings were held at Byurakan under Ambartsumian's supervision. In 1968

8099-620: Was rumored to have seen Mergelyan as a rival for the academy's president and decided to "get rid of the competitor forever." Ambartsumian was the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia , published in 13 volumes in 1974–87. According to Jean-Claude Pecker Ambartsumian "had a very strong influence on world astropolitics " and is one of the few astronomers who have had such

8190-420: Was shut down in 1993. Ambartsumian and his disciples at the Byurakan Observatory became known in the scholarly literature as the "Byurakan School." From 1977 to 1996 Ambartsumian headed a specialized council for theses defenses at Byurakan. Over 50 scientists defended their PhD (Candidate) and Doctoral theses on astronomy, astrophysics and theoretical physics in those years under Ambartsumian. Though most of

8281-502: Was the first satellite ultraviolet spectrogram of a planetary nebula, revealing lines of aluminium and titanium-elements not previously observed in planetary nebulae." These activities, especially the space missions, when for example a special crewed spaceship had to be devoted to an experiment from the smallest Soviet republic, needed powerful backing, both in Kremlin corridors and within the top-secret rocket industry establishment. This

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