Churyumov, Klim Ivanovich

He was the fourth of eight children of Ivan Ivanovich and Antonina Mikhailovna Churyumov. My father died during the Great Patriotic War in 1942.

In 1949, the family moved to Kiev . After the seventh grade, he entered the Kiev Railway College, which he graduated with honors in 1955. Received a recommendation for admission to higher education.

He entered the Faculty of Physics of Kiev State University. T. G. Shevchenko (specialty "Physics, Astronomy"). In 1960, after graduation, he was sent to the polar geophysical station in the bay of Tiksi, Yakut ASSR . There he explored the auroras , earth currents and the ionosphere .

In 1962, having returned to Kiev, he began working at the Arsenal plant , where he took part in the development of astronautical equipment for space rockets and its testing at the Baikonur and Plesetsk cosmodromes . After graduating from graduate school of Kiev State University (specialty "astrophysics"), where the scientific adviser of KI Churyumov was professor S.K. Vsekhsvyatsky , he remained working as a researcher at the Department of Astronomy of KSU. He observed comets at the outskirts of Kiev University in the village of Lesniki and on astronomical expeditions to the highlands of Central Asia , the Caucasus , Siberia , Primorsky Krai , Chukotka and Kamchatka .

In 1969, the university equipped an expedition of three people, including Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko, to observe periodic comets in Alma-Ata , at the Astrophysical Institute (now the Astrophysical Institute named after V.G. Fesenkov ).

In 1972 he defended his thesis “Research on the comets of Ikeia-Seki (1967n), Honda (1968s), Tahoe-Sato-Kosaka (1969) and the new short-period comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko based on photographic observations”.

In 1993, at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), he defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic “Evolutionary physical processes in comets”.

Since 1998 - Professor at Kiev University. T. Shevchenko. In January 2004, by decision of the Presidium of the Knowledge Society, he was appointed director of the Kiev Planetarium Research and Education Center.

Suddenly died in the hospital from the consequences of a stroke in the 80th year of life ^[4] . He was buried at the Baykovsky cemetery in Kiev.

On February 17, 1984, the name of the scientist was named the small planet (2627) Churyumov , discovered on August 8, 1978 by Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory ^{[5] [6]} . In addition, N.S. Chernykh named the asteroid No. 3942 discovered by him at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory on September 11, 1977, named "Churivanniya" in honor of two Ivanov Churyumovs, father and older brother Klim Ivanovich Churyumov, the name was approved by the Center for Minor Planets on February 18, 1992 ^{[7] [8]} .

One more of the minor planets, (6646) Churant , discovered on February 14, 1991 at the Palomar Observatory , an American professor Eleanor Helin , a researcher of comets and asteroids, named in honor of Klim’s mother Antonina Mikhailovna Churyumova, the name was approved by the Center for Small Planets May 9, 2001 ^{[9] [10]} .

The main scientific works in the field of astronomy of comets and asteroids. He worked at the Astronomical Observatory of Kiev University.

In September 1969, along with graduate student Svetlana Gerasimenko , while observing the comet Comas-Sol , they took a photo showing another comet called by the name of the discoverers - “ Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko ” (67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko).

In 1986, he discovered a second, long-period comet, together with V.V. Solodovnikov (from the Fesenkov Astrophysical Institute , Kazakhstan). It was called the comet Churyumov - Solodovnikov (C / 1986 N1 Churyumov-Solodovnikov).

On March 2, 2004, Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko were present at the Kourou space center in French Guiana at the launch of the European interplanetary probe Rosetta, which went to the comet Churyumov - Gerasimenko. The main objective of the probe is to investigate the comet Churyumov - Gerasimenko, which he reached in 2014, and on November 12, the Fila descent vehicle, which separated from the probe, completed a 7-hour rendezvous and, during the interval 18: 33 ... 20: 33 Moscow time, completed a successful landing on the surface of the comet (three landings with two bounces) ^[11] .

He has published more than 800 scientific papers, including 4 monographs and 4 study guides ^[12] . He was a scientific consultant in astronomy during the second edition of the Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia .

As the chairman of scientific organizing committees, he organized and held fifteen international astronomical conferences: All-Holy Readings (1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010), International Seminar in Memory of Professors A.F. Bogorodsky and S.K. Vsekhsvyatsky (1994), International conferences in memory of I. S. Astapovich “AIST” (1998, 2003, 2008), International conferences KAMMAK (1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011), International conferences “ Bredikhinsky readings ” (1983, 1992) ^[13] .

Under his scientific supervision, eleven master's theses in comet physics and the theory and methodology of teaching astronomy were defended.

At the initiative of K. I. Churyumov International Astronomical Union named minor planets with national names and symbols: “ (2427) Kobzar ” - in honor of T. G. Shevchenko , “ (2428) Kamenar ” - in honor of I. Ya. Franko , “ ( 2431) Frying pan "- in honor of the Ukrainian philosopher of the XVIII century G. S. Skovoroda ," (4868) Knusheviya "- in honor of the Kiev National University (KNU) named after T. Shevchenko , “ (22616) Bogolyubov ” - in honor of the Soviet physicist and mathematician N. N. Bogolyubov ^[14] .

He was the author of popular science books and a children's writer - the author of several collections of poems for babies (“ Babies About Professions ”, “Babies About Animals”, “Children About the Boat”, “Mathematics for Babies” (co-authored), “The Adventures of the Dinosaur Dino” ) The author of many popular science articles.

For the discovery of the comet Churyumov – Gerasimenko, K. I. Churyumov was awarded the medal of the Astrosovet of the USSR Academy of Sciences “For the discovery of new astronomical objects” (December 23, 1975) ^[15] .

In 2005 he was awarded the N. P. Barabashov Prize of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (jointly with I. A. Vakarchuk and N. G. Shchukina) for the series of works “Spectral Research of Stars and Comets” ^[16] .

In 2003 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the III degree ^[17] , and in 2009 - II degree ^[18] .

He was a member of the International Astronomical Union (since 1979), the European Astronomical Union (since 1992), the Ukrainian Astronomical Association (since 1992); Honored Worker of Education of Ukraine (since 1998) ^[19] .

• Svіy mid zіrok і comets. 75 Rocks to Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Klim Churyumov (Ukrainian)
• Klim Churyumov - co-discoverer of comet 67P | European Space Agency
• Interview by Klim CHURYUMOV 2000.ua “Nuclear warheads will save humanity” (11/19/2014)