Mikheil Alexandres dze Vashakidze ( ka, მიხეილ ვაშაკიძე; August 15, 1909 – November 27, 1956) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

, who worked in the Abastumani astrophysical observatory ( Georgia) from 1936 to 1956. He and Victor Alekseyevich Dombrovsky ( Виктор Алексеевич Домбровский) (September 30, 1913 – February 1, 1972) both discovered independently the polarized nature of radiation from the

Crab Nebula The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations Messier object, M1, New General Catalogue, NGC 1952, Taurus (constellation), Taurus A) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus (constellation), Taurus. The common name ...

in 1952 and 1953, which was caused by

synchrotron radiation Synchrotron radiation (also known as magnetobremsstrahlung radiation) is the electromagnetic radiation emitted when relativistic charged particles are subject to an acceleration perpendicular to their velocity (). It is produced artificially in ...

. Vashakidze also created a new method for learning the distribution of the

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

s in space, which is now known as the Vashakidze–

Oort Jan Hendrik Oort ( or ; 28 April 1900 – 5 November 1992) was a Dutch astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of the Milky Way and who was a pioneer in the field of radio astronomy. His ''New York Times'' obituary ...

method. He was awarded the "Order of Honour". The crater Vashakidze on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

is named after him.

References

Soviet astronomers 1909 births 1956 deaths 20th-century astronomers Astronomers from Georgia (country) Scientists from Georgia (country) Academic staff of Tbilisi State University {{europe-astronomer-stub