Matvey Matveyevich Gusev (Russian: Матве́й Матве́евич Гу́сев) (November 28 [O.S. November 16] 1826, Vyatka, Russia–April 22 [O.S. April 10] 1866, Berlin, Germany) was a Russian astronomer who worked at Pulkovo Observatory near St. Petersburg from 1850 to 1852 and then at Vilnius Observatory.
Matvey Matveyevich Gusev | |
|---|---|
| Матве́й Матве́евич Гу́сев | |
| Born | 28 November 1826 |
| Died | 22 April 1866 |
| Known for | Non-sphericity of the Moon Astrophotography |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | astronomy |
| Institutions | Pulkovo Observatory Vilnius Observatory |
In 1860 he founded the first scientific journal dedicated to math and physics in Russia: Vestnik matematicheskikh nauk (Вестник математических наук). He became the director of the Vilnius Observatory in 1865.
He was first to prove the non-sphericity of the Moon, concluding in 1860 that it is elongated in the direction of the Earth.[1] He is considered one of the pioneers in using photography in astronomy, having taken pictures of the Moon and the Sun - including sunspots - while at the Vilnius observatory.
He died in Berlin, Germany in 1866. A major crater on Mars is named Gusev crater after him, and it is famed as the landing site of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit.
References
edit- ^ Great Soviet Encyclopedia article on Gusev