Elchin BABAYEV Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences AZERBAIJANI NAMES IN SPACE

HUMANITY IS PART OF THE COSMOS - A STRANGER IN ITS VAST OPEN SPACES FULL OF MYSTERIES TOGETHER WITH THE EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM. THE COSMOS, WHOSE NAME MEANS ORDER, ARRANGEMENT AND HARMONY IN GREEK, HAS ATTRACTED PEOPLE SINCE ANCIENT TIMES AND SERVED AS A SYMBOL OF HARMONY AND BEAUTY IN NATURAL PHENOMENA. WHO HAS NOT ENJOYED THE BEAUTY OF THE STARRY SKY ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME, MARVELING AT THE INFI- NITE EXPANSE OF THE UNIVERSE? YET THERE IS SOME SPECIAL APPEAL AND DILAPIDATION IN THE MOSTLY ANCIENT NAMES THAT FLASH UP ON THE STARRY MAP OF THE SKY. WELL, THE LAND OF FIRE AZERBAIJAN – IS IT REPRESENTED BY ITS OWN NAMES IN THE WORLD OF HOT STARS, COLD AND IMPERMANENT COMETS?

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zerbaijan has a worthy place same happens with formations on lite Luna, the Greeks – Selena and in the history of astronomy. their surface. In diff erent years, the In- ancient Egyptians - Yah or Iyah. The AOur contribution to this sci- ternational Astronomical Union (IAU) invention of telescopes allowed us ence is not limited to the famous actively discussed what category of to distinguish fi ne details of the re- Maraga observatory founded in the names newly discovered heavenly lief of the Moon. The fi rst map of the 13th century on the territory of South bodies or formations on them (cra- Moon’s surface was drafted by Ric- Azerbaijan by great Nasireddin Tusi. ters, plains, valleys, cliff s, mountains, cioli in 1651. He also gave names to This observatory can be safely called etc.) should be given. In the end, they the largest craters. Lunar seas, which a prototype of a modern Academy decided to give them the name of constitute about 16% of the surface of Sciences. What about the ancient not only astronomers and scientists of the Moon, are huge craters that rock paintings in Gobustan near Baku from other disciplines, but also of emerged as a result of collisions with and Gamigaya in Ordubad, which, as prominent writers, poets, painters, celestial bodies and were later fi lled has already been proven, are related sculptors, composers, etc. with liquid lava. Most of the surface to the cosmos and to astronomy? is covered with regolith - a mixture of Many believe that the famous fi ne dust and rocky debris resulting masterpiece of medieval architec- from falling meteors. Riccioli suggest- ture Giz Galasi (Maiden’s Tower) in ed giving craters the names of great Baku was a kind of primitive (in our scientists of antiquity and modern view) observatory. These and other times. That is how the craters of Pla- mysteries are waiting to be solved. to, Aristotle, Archimedes, Aristarchus, After the Maraga observatory, Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Ptolemy there was a long “silence”, and then and Copernicus, Kepler, Tycho Brahe the “baton” was picked up by the and Galileo appeared on the Moon. Shamakhi Astrophysical Observa- The other side of the Moon is domi- tory, which was established at the nated by modern names - Apollo, foot of the sacred Mount Pirgulu in Gagarin and Korolev, etc., mostly of 1960. Agree that at that time, not Russian origin, as the fi rst pictures every country could aff ord to have of the other side were made by the its own “window into space” as ob- Soviet spaceship Luna-3. Along with servatories are often called. Soon the above, on the Moon we can after that, we cut through a second fi nd the name of the world-known window in the form of the Batabat Great Azerbaijani Nasireddin Tusi Azerbaijani scholar and thinker astrophysical observatory in the an- Nasireddin Tusi. cient land of Nakhchivan, the home Of course, we all dream of a The Nasireddin Crater (Nasireddin of prominent scholars and politicians lengthy list of names connected or eponym Nasir al-Din al-Tusi) is of and a region of historic monuments with Azerbaijan in one way or an- impact origin and is located in the of world importance. other deserving “heavenly residence”. rugged terrain in the southern part Naturally, the contribution of And those names are now more than of the Moon. This crater is connected the Azerbaijani people to the enough. It is already possible to draw to two much older formations invad- development of astronomy and up an initial version of the list. Let’s ing the Miller Crater in the north and space exploration did not go un- make a little excursion starting with the Huggins Crater in the west. To the noticed, and the fact that celestial the closest cosmic neighborhoods. east of the Nasireddin Crater, there is bodies were given names con- the vast Stofl er plain with ledges. The nected with Azerbaijan in one way THE MOON. It is the only natural Nasireddin Crater, as a young forma- or another can be considered one satellite of the Earth and the second tion, has preserved many of its struc- of the original awards for this. brightest object in the sky after the tural details very well, including the When heavenly bodies are dis- Sun. The Moon has attracted the at- terraces on the inside wall and the covered, they are initially assigned tention of people since prehistoric sharp periphery (rim) towards the codes and then given names. The times. The Romans called our satel- south and the east where the inner

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Heritage_1_(12)_2013_last.indd 46 1/29/13 3:43 PM dark areas is still a subject of discus- sion. They remain in spite of the fact that dust storms are raging on Mars. Large-scale images show that in fact the dark areas are made up of clusters of dark stripes and spots as- sociated with craters, hills and other obstacles in the way of the wind. Seasonal and long-term changes in their size and shape are related, ap- parently, to changes in the ratio of surface areas covered with light and dark matter. On Mars, there are two craters Guba Crater on Mars Nasireddin Crater on the Moon related to us: named after N. B. Ibra- himov and the Azerbaijani town of . It is the closest planet to wall is sharply lowered. The external Guba. the sun and is named after one of the pavilion is relatively fl at, but with a The Ibrahimov Crater (Ibragi- gods of the ancient pantheon - the Ro- rough surface. There are also several mov Crater) was named in 1982 man god of commerce (corresponds low central peaks in the central part after the talented Azerbaijani as- to Greek Hermes). It is rather diffi cult to of the interior and a few small crater tronomer Nadir Baba oglu Ibrahi- observe Mercury from the Earth, as the cuts that bisect the surface. mov (29.12.1932-1.1.1977), who planet is briefl y visible in the morning The lunar (or selenographic) co- made a great contribution to the or evening glow. Therefore, in ancient ordinates of the Nasireddin Crater study of Mars. Ibrahimov was an times Mercury was often mistaken for are 41 degrees southern latitude employee of the Tusi Shamakhi As- two diff erent stars (morning and eve- and 0.2 degrees eastern longitude. trophysical Observatory (SAO). The ning stars). In ancient Egypt, these two Its diameter is 52 km and depth - 3 Martian coordinates of the crater are sides of Mercury were named Seth km. The selenographic co-longitude 25.9 degrees southern latitude and and Horus, in ancient India - Buddha (longitude of the morning terminator 59.5 degrees western longitude. The and Rogineya, and in ancient Greece separating the dark and lit parts of crater has a diameter of 89 km. - Apollo and Hermes. the Moon calculated from the main For its relief, the surface of Mer- meridian in the direction of the west) cury is remarkably similar to the sur- is 1 degree at the sunrise. face of the Moon and is completely MARS. It is the fourth most distant riddled with craters of diff erent sizes. planet from the sun and the seventh The fundamentals have been devel- largest planet of the solar system. It oped of the nomenclature of details can be easily observed with the na- of the relief of Mercury. There are fol- ked eye as a bright reddish star. Mars, lowing forms of relief: craters, plains, like other planets in the solar system, valleys, cliff s, mountains and ridges. is named after one of the gods of the Large craters on Mercury are ancient pantheon - god of war Mars named after people who have made (the ancient Greek version is Ares). Ibrahimov Crater on Mars outstanding contributions to the Two-thirds of the surface of Mars is humanities and arts - writers, paint- occupied by bright areas known as Another crater Guba (Kuba Cra- ers, sculptors, architects, composers, continents and about one-third – by ter) with a diameter of 25 kilometers and musicians. Names are usually as- dark areas called seas. The seas are received its name in 1976 and has signed to all craters with a diameter concentrated mainly in the south- coordinates: 25.6 degrees southern greater than 100 km and selectively – ern hemisphere between 10 and 40 latitude and 19.5 degrees western smaller ones that stands out for their degrees latitude. The nature of the longitude. clarity or halo of light rays.

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Giving names in honor of re- estimated total mass of all of its discovery, for example, 1950 DA. searchers who made major contri- is less than one thousandth of the The numbers signify the year. The fi rst butions to the study of Mercury is mass of the Earth. The largest aster- letter is the number of the fortnight limited. This is done to minimize the oid in the solar system is 1 Ceres with in the year in which the was recurrence of names already existing a diameter of 900-1,000 km, which discovered, and therefore, there are on Mars and the Moon. The main cra- has the status of a dwarf planet. Two 24 of them. In the example, it is the ters on Mercury are named after fa- other large asteroids - 2 Pallas and second half of February. The second mous writers and artists. One of them 4 Vesta - have a diameter of about letter indicates the sequence num- is the Nizami Crater with the eponym 500 km. Most of the currently known ber of the asteroid in the fortnight: Elyas Yusof Nezami Ganjavi. Nizami asteroids are concentrated in the so- in our example, the asteroid was dis- Ganjavi Abu Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yu- called asteroid belt between the or- covered fi rst. suf (c. 1141 - c. 1209, Ganja, Azerbai- bits of Mars and Jupiter. The letters I and Z are not used jan) is a classic of Azerbaijani poetry, At fi rst, the asteroids were given in serial numbers, as there are 24 one of the greatest poets of the me- the names of characters of Roman fortnights and 26 letters. The letter dieval East and founder of realism in and Greek mythology, and then dis- I is not used because of its similarity poetry. His legacy is revered around coverers were authorized to name with one. If the number of asteroids the world. The Nizami Crater (70 km discovered in a fortnight exceeds 24, in size) has the following coordinates: they return to the beginning of the 71.5 degrees northern latitude and alphabet again, adding the index 2 165 degrees eastern longitude. to the second letter, next time they By the way, we would like to draw return, they add 3, etc. According to attention to the fact that, thanks to the rules, after giving a name, it is the eff orts of scientists from the necessary to write the number (se- Shamakhi Astrophysical Observa- rial number) and the name - 1 Ceres, tory, errors in the registration of 8 Flora, etc. names, for example, Tusi (crater Among the thousands of small on the Moon) and Nizami (crater planets, we found eight names as- on Mercury), where the relevant sociated with Azerbaijan. They persons were listed as Persians, were assigned both in Soviet not Azerbaijanis, were corrected. times and after independence. 1. Asteroid ShAO (1881 ShAO), ini- ASTEROIDS. These heavenly bodies Nizami Ganjavi tial name RS 1940. It was discov- are also moving in their orbits around ered on 3 August 1940 when by the sun. Asteroids, also known as mi- them at their own discretion and K. Reinmuth in Heidelberg, Ger- nor planets (planetoids), are signifi - even give them their own names. many. The asteroid is named af- cantly smaller in size than real planets Initially, only female names were ter the Shamakhi Astrophysical and greatly diff er among themselves given. Only asteroids with unusual Observatory. in diameter. Today, there are more orbits were given male names (e.g., 2. Asteroid Azerbajdzhan (2698 than 85,000 “minor planets” known Icarus, coming to the Sun closer than Azerbajdzhan), initial name in the solar system whose orbits have Mercury). Later, this rule was no lon- 1971 TZ. It was discovered on 11 been accurately defi ned and which ger enforced. October 1971 by employees of have been given offi cial numbers. Not all asteroids, but only those the Crimean Astrophysical Ob- Nearly 12,000 of them have offi - whose orbits are more or less reliably servatory of the Academy of Sci- cially approved names. Asteroids are calculated can have names. There ences of the USSR (hereafter the somewhat traditionally neglected by have been cases when an asteroid Crimean Astrophysical Observa- scientists and are even called a “cos- got a name 10 years after being dis- tory). This object belongs to the mic rabble”. It is assumed that there covered. As long as the orbit is not main asteroid belt and is named might be about a million of these calculated, an asteroid is assigned a in honor of the Azerbaijani SSR. objects in the solar system, but the serial number, which refl ects the date The information about it was giv-

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Heritage_1_(12)_2013_last.indd 48 1/29/13 3:43 PM sible because he believes Azer- named one of the asteroids after baijan is his father and Russia is the Azerbaijani astronomer and his mother. researcher of comets, director of 5. Asteroid Sorin (5989 Sorin), ini- the ShAO of the National Acad- tial name 1976 QC1. It was dis- emy of Sciences, Ayyub Guliyev. covered on 26 August 1976 by Now the asteroid numbered Nikolay Chernykh, a specialist 18749 is called Ayyubguliev. It is in astrometry and dynamics of the 12th heavenly body that has a small bodies in the solar system, name associated with Azerbaijan. at the Crimean Astrophysical Ob- The asteroid was discovered on 9 servatory. The asteroid is named April 1999 as part of the LONEOS after Sergey Ivanovich Sorin, one international program in Ander- of the pioneers of astronomy in son Mesa (Arizona, USA) and modern Azerbaijan. The name had the serial number 1999 GA8. was approved by the IAU on 4 In conclusion, we should draw May 1999. the reader’s attention to the 6. Asteroid Javid (6262 Javid), initial fact that the aforesaid list of as- name 1978 RZ. It was discovered tronomical objects with names en in the Minor Planet Circular, № on 1 September 1978 by the related to Azerbaijan may be 7474, 1 December 1982. same N. Chernykh at the Crimean incomplete and expand even 3. Asteroid Nizami (3770 Nizami), Astrophysical Observatory. The further in the future. Whatever it initial name (1974 QT1). It was asteroid was named on 18 No- is, we are proud of these names discovered on 24 August 1974 vember 1997 in honor of Huseyn and are absolutely confi dent that by an employee of the Institute Javid (1882-1941), a prominent there will appear other names as- of Theoretical Astronomy of the Azerbaijani poet, playwright and sociated with Azerbaijan in the USSR Academy of Sciences, Ly- historian, author of several histor- depths of space. udmila Chernykh, at the Crimean ical plays, who was repressed in Astrophysical Observatory. In the 1937. The information about it is USSR, the institute led the study given in the Minor Planet Circu- and cataloging of small planets lar, № 30098, 1997. in the solar system on behalf of 7. Asteroid Tusi (10,269 Tusi), initial the International Astronomical name 1979 SU11. It was discov- Union. The asteroid was named ered on 24 September 1979 by on 18 November 1997 in honor N. Chernykh at the Crimean As- of the prominent Azerbaijani trophysical Observatory. The as- poet and thinker Nizami Ganjavi teroid was named on 17 August (1141-1209). The information 2001 in honor of the outstanding about it was given in the Minor Azerbaijani encyclopedist, scien- Planet Circular, № 18454, 1991. tist, astronomer, mathematician 4. Asteroid Magomaev (4980 Mago- and philosopher Nasireddin Tusi maev), initial name 1974 SP1. It (1201-1274). The information was discovered on 19 September about it is given in the Minor 1974 by the same L. I. Chernykh Planet Circular, № 42360, 9 at the Crimean Astrophysical 2001. Observatory. The asteroid was 8. Quite recently, in the fall of named after Muslim Magomayev 2007, very good news spread - a legend Russia and Azerbai- not only for astronomers, but for jan still cannot “divide between all citizens of Azerbaijan. The In- themselves”. And this is impos- ternational Astronomical Union

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