To 100th Anniversary of the Russian Computational Institute аnd the Russian “Astronomical Yearbook” Publication

V. Shor

Transactions of IAA RAS, issue 59, 30–53 (2021)

DOI: 10.32876/ApplAstron.59.30-52

Keywords: ITA RAS, Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, IAA RAS, Institute of Applied Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Computational Institute, Astronomical Institute, Astronomical Yearbook, development history, ephemeris service, planets, comets, satellites, numerical theory of motion

Abstract

The article describes the history of the creation and development in Russia of ephemeris support for large and small bodies of the Solar system for the needs of astrometry, land, sea and space navigation. The presentation is conducted against the background of accompanying astronomical events and events in the life of the institutions in which the service was carried out. The main stages of the development of the ITA of the USSR Academy of Sciences (hereinafter ITA) are highlighted. In 1919–1945, the formation of ephemeris astronomy in Russia took place. This stage ended with the creation in 1943 of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy of the USSR Academy of Sciences (hereinafter ITA) and the return of the Institute to Leningrad after evacuation to Kazan during the Great Patriotic War. The next stage, 1945–1964, is inextricably linked to the directorship of M. F. Subbotin. At this time, young employees came to ITA — graduates of the universities of Leningrad, Moscow, Kazan, Tomsk, and Kharkov. The world's first Soviet artificial Earth satellite was launched; the first experiences of using an electronic computing machine (ECM) to solve problems of ephemeris astronomy were carried out in the same period. The next stage of 1965–1975 in the life of ITA is connected with the directorship of G. A. Chebotarev. This stage coincided in time with the development of space research and the emergence of new high-precision radar and laser methods for observing celestial bodies. The new methods of observation required to predict the position of bodies with a higher accuracy. In 1976–1988, under the leadership of the new director of ITA S. S. Lavrov, the Institute's capabilities in the field of system programming and computer technology increased significantly. Russian-made “BESM-6” ECMs were acquired, and then the “Elbrus” ECMs were bought later. During this period, a number of ITA`s long-standing problems were solved, in particular, the automatically controlled compiling the Russian “Astronomical Yearbook”. In the period 1988–1998, the Institute began to intensively deal with the asteroid and comet hazard problem. This period was the last in the history of ITA. In 1998, ITA was affiliated with the Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAA RAS). From this moment, a new stage in the development of the domestic ephemeris service began. Now IAA RAS has been solving a range of tasks related to the country`s high-precision Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) techniques based on observations using “Quasar” radio interferometric system and other modern space geodesy tools. The content of this article is close to the recently published article by the same author in English: «Twentiethcentury milestones in the history of the Russian ephemeris service: Marking 100 years of the Calculation Institute and astronomical yearbook», Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 52, Issue 3, 2021.

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