Gavriil Adrianovich Tikhov | |
|---|---|
Гавриил Адрианович Тихов | |
 Gavriil Tikhov with his wife atPulkovo Observatory in 1912 | |
| Born | (1875-05-01)May 1, 1875 |
| Died | January 25, 1960(1960-01-25) (aged 84) |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
Gavriil Adrianovich Tikhov (Russian:Гавриил Адрианович Тихов, 1 May 1875 – 25 January 1960) was a Sovietastronomer who was a pioneer inastrobiology and is considered to be the father ofastrobotany. He worked as an observer at thePulkovo Observatory from 1906 until 1941. After undertaking an expedition to Almaty to observe thesolar eclipse of September 21, 1941, he remained and became one of the founders of theKamenskoe Plateau Observatory, theFesenkov Astrophysical Institute, and theKazakhstan Academy of Sciences.[1]
G. A. Tikhov was born in Smolevichy, nearMinsk, in the family of a railway employee, the family often moved from place to place. He began to study at the gymnasium ofPavlodar, and completed secondary education at theSimferopol gymnasium. Living inSimferopol, he once saw two bright stars in the clear evening sky. He learned from the teacher of the Simferopol gymnasium that these stars are the planetVenus and the starSirius. At the Simferopol Public Library, he read two astronomical books. "I read these books with exciting interest, and my fate was decided. In the spring of 1892 I will never forget - then I irrevocably decided to become an astronomer," he writes in his memoir,60 Years Near the Telescope. At the gymnasium observatory, he first looked through a telescope.[2]
Tikhov invented the featheringspectrograph by using the commonly occurringchromatic aberration to his advantage. By installing a ring-shaped diaphragm in front of the objective he enabled an observer to deduce the color andspectral class of astar very easily. He was one of the first to use color filters to increase the contrast of surface details onplanets. He was appointed head ofastrobotany in Alma-Ata, and investigated the possibility of life on other bodies in theSolar System.
The craterTikhov crater on theMoon, the Martian craterTikhov, and the asteroid2251 Tikhov are named in his honor.[1]
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