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 PLANET 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 PLANETS AND IMPERMANENT COMETS? www.irs-az.com 45 Heritage_1_(12)_2013_last.indd 45 1/29/13 3:43 PM Great people 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 46 www.irs-az.comwww w.irs-az.como 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 MERCURY. 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. www.irs-az.comwww.irs-az.com 477 Heritage_1_(12)_2013_last.indd 47 1/29/13 3:43 PM Great people Giving names in honor of re- estimated total mass of all asteroids of its discovery, for example, 1950 DA.