Hot topics:

A Kyivan Rus’ astronomer

On precise self-identification of the globally acclaimed scientist Klym Churiumov and the Rosetta mission

15 December, 17:25

In November the name of Klym Churiumov, Kyiv Planetarium director and Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University Professor, came into the spotlight of the world’s major TV channels and other media. While Churiumov had only been well known previously in the world academe as a major Ukrainian scientist, last autumn even those who were not much interested in science came to know about him. On November 12, the Rosetta spacecraft’s lander Philae touched down on the surface of a comet. Hundreds of thousands of people watched live coverage of this really historic moment and a new giant step towards unraveling the mystery of the Solar system’s emergence. The comet on which Philae landed – 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko – was discovered in October 1969 by Klym Churiumov and Svitlana Herasymenko.

Churiumov came to Den’s editorial office with a scale model of Churyumov-Gerasimenko. “It is about 40,000 times as small as the original,” the academic explained. He said that, in spite of insufficient funding, Ukrainian science has a great potential. “Ukraine is poor, so we have always lacked support. I’ve been visiting conferences for the past 25 years just thanks to the grants of organizers. Our university was also unable to finance my visit to Dornstadt [where astronomers guided the probe’s landing on Churyumov-Gerasimenko. – Ed.]. Even when we go abroad on business, these days are deducted from our salaries. You have to write a special explanation that it is important for science and for Ukraine – then they will perhaps not deduct,” the scientist says. Then he switches to uncommon things, such as the emergence of life on the Earth, our neighbors in the Universe, and how people will be able to tap the resources of comets in the future. For when it is a question of some global issues, earthly problems seem to be easy to solve.

KLYM CHURIUMOV HOLDS THE GLOBE OF THE COMET’S NUCLEUS. THIS MODEL IS 40,000 TIMES AS SMALL AS THE ORIGINAL BUT FULLY REPRODUCES THE COMET’S TERRAIN AND EXTREMELY INTERESTING SHAPE / Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day

“What is this?” Churiumov asks, showing journalists the model. “It is the nucleus of Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It is sort of a nuclear globe. Our comet has two parts – big and small – joined with a bridge. Researchers were surprised very much to see such an interesting shape. Everybody liked this shape, for it was so unexpected.”

“When the spacecraft approached the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet, it photographed everything. It continues to do so and has already taken dozens of thousands of pictures. You can see the terrain in minute detail from all sides. There are mountains, craters, and valleys here. The terrain even resembles that of the Earth. If I look at the photos from a short distance, this landscape [shows on the model. – Ed.], for example, reminds me of the Carpathians. When names come to be assigned to various elements, I will express my opinion because it is typically Ukrainian comet. I was born in Mykolaiv and Svitlana Herasymenko in Baryshivka, near Kyiv. We come from Ukraine and need Ukrainian toponyms – craters and mountains should be named after Ukrainian cities, villages, and, maybe, outstanding personalities. There are a lot of details like this here. I’ve suggested that the place where Philae landed be named Kyiv.

“Most of the existing names are associated with Egypt. The very name of the spacecraft, Rosetta, is linked to that of the Rosetta stone. It is a slab with three identical texts in different languages, one of them written in Egyptian hieroglyphs which nobody could understand. This raised a question: what is written there about? But the same text was also written in the well-known Ancient Greek language, and the hieroglyphs were deciphered. So we came to know a very interesting history of Egypt. This occurred in the early 19th century. In other words, ‘Rosetta’ is a key to unraveling a great mystery.

“This is why the spacecraft was named Rosetta, for it also flew to an unknown object to ‘decipher’ its nature. So, everything is partly associated with Egypt. For example, the place where Philae landed was named Agilkia. This almost unknown name belongs to a small island in the Nile’s delta. I don’t know if it still exists or is submerged. There used to be a temple there. There was a contest, and many people voted for this name. But I protested because the opinion of discoverers should be taken into account first of all.

“There are big craters here, and I would like one of them to be named after my teacher Professor Serhii Vsekhsviatsky. Why? Craters often belong to extinct volcanoes. Vsekhsviatsky believed that comets are formed as a result of volcanic eruptions. He suggested a theory that there were eruptions on Jupiter’s moons. Nobody believed him, but this was confirmed by space research. There are icy bodies on its moons, and comets are 60-80 percent water ice. Jupiter’s satellite Europa fully consists of compact ice. It is like a frozen water drop.

“Vsekhsviatsky also said that not only Saturn, but also Jupiter and Uranus had rings. Nobody believed this until spacecrafts flew there. All the giants turned out to have rings. This is why UNESCO proclaimed 2005 the Year of Vsekhsviatsky on the occasion of the scientist’s 100th anniversary. This means that this Ukrainian scientist is known throughout the world. For this reason, I would recommend that this big crater be named Vsekhsviatsky.

“Some other objects could also be named after Ukrainian places. I do not object to all kinds of other names because there are a lot of various items here, but most of the toponyms should be Ukrainian. There is a special commission of the International Astronomical Union to name structures and details on the surface of celestial bodies. Names can only be approved by its consent. I have requested this organization to give preference to discoverers.”

“THE MAIN GOAL IS TO EXPLORE THE PRIMARY SUBSTANCE. IT IS COMETS”

“Scientists evince interest in comets because they are the primary substance. It is a relict substance that formed 4.6 billion years ago, when there was neither the Sun nor the planets. At first, five billion years ago, there was nothing but dust. Dust and gas – a huge cloud… Owing to a large mass, the cloud begins to compress, and this compression brings forth, so to speak, the germs of comets. Small bodies absorb dust and form objects. There were trillions of trillions of these gas and dust germs – much more than sand grits on all the beaches of the Earth. As a result of collisions, they began to merge and form planetary nuclei which later grew to the size of planets. The giant planets were formed a long way from the Sun. As the Sun exerted a lesser influence on them, they, accordingly, accumulated large masses.

“Only four planets closer to the Sun are called terrestrials. Under the influence of the Sun, they have lost a large mass of the particularly light substance and there is more warmth and irradiation on them. Life emerged on the Earth because it is located in an area where it is warm and there is water and oxygen, which is an indispensable condition for life to appear. So, the Earth, the planets, and the Sun were built on the basis of these ‘bricks.’

THE ROSETTA SPACECRAFT WAS LAUNCHED BY THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ON MARCH 2, 2004, TO EXPLORE THE CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO COMET. ON AUGUST 6, 2014, ROSETTA BECAME THE FIRST SPACECRAFT TO BE PUT INTO THE ORBIT OF A COMET. AND ON NOVEMBER 12 ROSETTA’S LANDER PHILAE TOUCHED DOWN ON THE COMET’S NUCLEUS – FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HUMANKIND’S HISTORY / REUTERS photo

“The Earth is subject to gravitation, extensive heat release, and all kinds of changes. Radioactive decay also releases energy, changes elements and the composition of molecules – in other words, it is a changed substance, whereas it is primary in comet nuclei. The main goal is to explore the primary substance. It is a key to solution. We approximately know how the Solar System emerged, but knowledge should be improved all the time. This substance, now under study, will help improve our pattern of understanding what the Sun and the Earth originated from.”

“COMETS SOWED THE EARTH WITH COMPLEX ORGANICS, AND IT BEGAN TO DEVELOP”

“Where did water come to the Earth from? The Earth was hot, and there was not a drop of water here. Nor were there any organics here. The Earth was burning hot, and water would have simply evaporated. This means there could be no life here. There was, of course, some water in the atmosphere, but very little. Water would mainly come to the Earth from comet nuclei which consisted 60-80 percent of ice. Millions and billions of comet nuclei kept falling like a downpour onto the Earth and the Moon. This is why we can also see craters on the Moon – it is the result of this bombardment. There are as many craters on the Earth, but there is an atmosphere and water here, so the traces have been wiped out. The Arizona Crater alone has survived in the original form – it is ‘young,’ about 40,000 years old. One can see about 200 circular structures of this kind on the Earth from outer space. Like on the Moon, they have already been covered with a layer of soil or water. They are called ‘star wounds.’

“So, when comet nuclei were coming down, the ice was evaporating and cooling the Earth. And when the Earth became colder, this ice stopped evaporating and filled depressions in a liquid state. It is our oceans and seas. How do we know this? In 2010, the Deep Impact spacecraft, on the EPOXI mission, approached the nucleus of the Hartley 2 comet at the distance of 694 km. When the isotopic composition of this comet’s water was examined, it turned out to be the same as in the Earth’s oceans. Therefore, comets are the source of water. They also brought organics to our planets.

“Complex molecules of such organics as methanol, formaldehyde, and spirits have been discovered on Churyumov-Gerasimenko, too. Earlier, when the Stardust craft was flying by the comet Wild, it sampled the particles (specks of dust) of its tail. Researchers found the complex molecule of glycine there. It is an amino acid without which no living creature can exist. For example, the human brain will not function without glycine. These complex molecules were found on comets. There had not been any on the Earth. Comets brought these complex organics to the Earth, which gave birth to life. It is a complicated story… The well-known astronomer Iosif Shklovsky writes that the probability of the ‘emergence’ of a biological molecule which was the first to split and brought forth life on the Earth is the same as having a monkey typewrite Hamlet’s soliloquy in English without mistakes. Of course, there is a probability, but it is almost zero. Comets sowed the Earth with complex organics, and it began to develop.”

HOW THE CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO COMET WAS DISCOVERED

“I must say there is so much nonsense written about the discovery of our comet. Wikipedia alleges that we saw a faint spot on a photographic plate and Herasymenko wanted to throw this plate away. It’s not true. That was a special Kyiv University expedition to observe and search for comets. I had gone three times on expeditions like this and I had experience, while Svitlana Herasymenko was doing so for the first time – and so successfully!

ASTRONOMERS SVITLANA HERASYMENKO AND KLYM CHURIUMOV. WHEN THEY WERE OBSERVING THE COMAS SOLA COMET IN THE FALL OF 1969, PHOTOPLATES SHOWED ONE MORE COMET THAT WAS NAMED CHURYUMOV-GERASIMENKO AFTER ITS DISCOVERERS

“We photographed the well-known periodic comets which were in the bright phase at the time. So, photographing the short-period 32P/Comas Sola comet, we noticed an unknown object on all the five plates. First we saw a spot in the center of the first spoiled plate. What could it be? A defect? We began to look for confirmation on the other plates. The comet we were photographing was well known. So, we measured the coordinates and concluded that it was something else. The parameters of our object differed from the theoretical ones (32P/Comas Sola) by 2 degrees, which is impossible for periodic comets because we know their precise orbit positions. We thought it might be a new object or a defect. If it was a defect, it was impossible to confirm this on one plate only. We examined the other plates. On September 9, 1969, we did two plates together, and on September 11 Svitlana did two plates with a laboratory assistant. Then Herasymenko went to Kyiv on business, and I stayed behind to continue observations. It was a good idea because on September 21 I photographed Comas Sola – two more plates. We examined the September 9 plates – there was an unknown object at the plate’s edge. My two plates showed the same. And Comas Sola was also on these plates – but in the center because we trained the telescope on it. We thus found five identical images of an unknown object. It was clear from the consecutively-exposed plates that it was moving. In other words, it was a comet. To confirm this, we could show five distinct positions. These helped us calculate the orbit. Had we not done this, the comet couldn’t have been found a month later. We passed on the data to a friend of mine, a well-known Russian astronomer and celestial mechanic, Nikolai Belyaev. He was the first to find out that the comet moved in an elliptical orbit. We sent five positions to the US in order to record that we were observing an object but did not know exactly what it was because no reference books had any information about it. Professor Brian Marsden immediately found that the orbit was elliptical and that it was a new object. We received a telegram that we had discovered a new comet. This was to be confirmed. The exact positions of the unknown diffuse object, as a table (ephemeris) of celestial coordinates which Marsden calculated on the basis of the orbit data, were sent in late 1969 to all the world’s observatories which also spotted and photographed this comet. The comet was named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in honor of its discoverers. We can say in jest that we fulfilled the university rector’s orders. For, as I can remember, the rector said before the expedition that we were to observe and discover comets. Then we received a bonus of 120 rubles which equaled an average monthly salary. For discovering a comet, you know.”

ON A CHANCE FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS

“Today, graduates of Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University want to deal with astronomy in general and comets in particular. They have a chance to realize themselves. Of course, there is no denying that universities are poor and funding is insufficient. Young people reluctantly go for PhD studies. I taught at the Vinnytsia Pedagogical University and found there two talented young researchers – Larysa Chubko, now a PhD and an associate professor at the Aviation Institute, winner of the State Prize in Science and Technology for Young Scientists; and Vasyl Ponomarenko who has already completed a PhD course and is going to defend his dissertation.

“We regularly conduct observations and get valuable results at the Lisnyky branch of Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University’s astronomic observatory. There are small telescopes there. Naturally, to obtain high-quality materials, we have to go abroad, for they have much more powerful equipment. I have conducted observations in Almaty, Dushanbe, and at European observatories. Our science should enjoy top priority. If Ukraine had money, we would build our own 15-meter telescope in Hawaii. And everybody would dream of working there. And we would explore the Universe and make new discoveries. I believe in this, but we are short of funds. Only enthusiasts are in science today. Low salaries, low scholarships…

“I supervised 11 PhDs and one doctors of sciences. We are developing science. But, let me say it again, we need to be funded. Very many are leaving for the US and Europe – once they’ve been awarded a PhD degree, they look for a better-paid job. For example, my pupil Hryhorii Polinovsky, who had been observing comets since he was a schoolboy, joined our astronomy department, completed a PhD course, and went to Berlin. When I was going to the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt to watch the probe’s descent on the comet nucleus, he asked me to take him to see this event. I did this. Incidentally, two of my female pupils also went with me at their own expense. It was interesting for them to see the first-ever undocking and landing of a space probe on the nucleus of a comet discovered in Ukraine. It was good for them to attend a historic astronomical feast at the Darmstadt-based European Space Agency’s Rosetta flight control center and see with their own eyes the prominent comet explorers from many countries and Rosetta’s navigators. But there was not a single representative of the Ukrainian media there, whereas there were a lot of journalists who represented the leading newspapers, TV and radio channels of many developed countries of the world, such as the US, the UK, Canada, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, et al.

1986. KLYM CHURIUMOV (PICTURED RIGHT) AND PROFESSOR SERGEI KAPITSA ARE GETTING READY FOR A POPULAR SCIENTIFIC TV PROGRAM, “THE OBVIOUS IS INCREDIBLE,” WHICH KAPITSA CONTINUOUSLY HOSTED FROM 1973 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 2012

“Ukrainian scientists are well respected in the world, and we often speak at conferences abroad. I have personally delivered 250 reports in 20 years. My international communication began in 1989, when I attended a conference in Germany. Before that, we had been behind the ‘iron curtain’ and unable to travel anywhere, even if we were invited. Whenever we tried to go on a business trip abroad, we were summoned to the KGB and admonished – that was the end of it.

“Now Ukraine is independent, but it is still far from genuine independence. From 1991 on, we are free to travel abroad and send articles to foreign publications. Before that, our scientists had published their works in Russian or Ukrainian only, so almost nobody read them. It was very difficult to get our articles published abroad in the Soviet era. But now we must publish with foreign houses only – this is the only way for Ukrainian scientists to be known.

“Ukraine has a space-exploring capability. We have powerful rockets which are made in Dnipropetrovsk and were formerly supplied to Russia. There were 20 observatories in the USSR, including 10 in Ukraine, before the union broke up.”

“THEN YOU’D BETTER CALL ME A KYIVAN RUS’ ASTRONOMER”

“I always say I am Ukrainian. It is a matter of principle for me. I was born in Mykolaiv and Svitlana in Baryshivka, Kyiv oblast. When the war began, my family moved to Siberia. I went to school there, pronouncing the sound ‘h’ in the Ukrainian manner, which caused me to be laughed at. Later, when I came to Kyiv, I learned to speak without an accent, but here Ukrainian is spoken.

“This is an absolutely Ukrainian comet and an achievement of Ukraine. What is going on in outer space today shows that Ukraine is the in the hub of events. It hurts me very much to be called a Russian or a Soviet scientist. Then you’d better call me a Kyivan Rus’ astronomer.

“When the probe was landing, all the foreign media – in the US, Canada, Europe, etc. – were calling the comet Ukrainian and us Ukrainian discoverers, naturally. Two dozen media outlets interviewed me. They all wrote about this. It is important.”

“MAYBE, WE WILL SOMEDAY EXTRACT RAW MATERIALS FROM SPACE OBJECTS”

“Extraterrestrial life does exist. There are billions of gigantic and terrestrial exoplanets in our Galaxy, the Milky Way. But, so far, large exoplanets, such as Jupiter and even larger, are mostly being discovered. Still, some of the discovered planets are approximately the size of the Earth. This means that life is quite common in the Universe. Complex organics from exocomet nuclei may have been brought to terrestrial-type exoplanets that orbit other stars – as was the case of the Earth. The cosmogony of other stars’ planets should be in general similar to that of the Solar System planets. I think life can be also found on the other Solar System bodies. I suppose there can be smaller life forms – certain microorganisms – on Mars. Higher life forms can only develop under splendid Earth-type conditions, such as oxygen, the sun, warm and cold areas. This once existed on Mars. Some microorganisms may be developing there, but one should fly and check it there. Or it’s better to launch a probe to Mars, which will take a sample to be studied.

“Or take Jupiter’s satellite Europa. This is a body covered with a 100-km-deep layer of ice followed by a layer of water, and there is a core in the center, which may comprise radioactive elements that decay and heat the water. There may be not only microorganisms, but also fish on Europa. There may be enough fish there to feed humankind for millions of years. Maybe, we will someday also extract raw materials from space objects. The Earth will run out of oil and coal, while there are organics and hydrocarbon molecules on asteroids and comets. And astronauts will have a rest on comet nuclei – they will be able to stock up water and hydrocarbons. They will be able to fly across the Solar System and make fuel out of hydrocarbons on comets and asteroids by means of specially-designed small devices.

“In the Solar System, there are higher forms of existence on the Earth only. But the Universe is undoubtedly full of other, more or less developed, communities.”

“THIS KIND OF FILMS ARE FANTASY PURE AND SIMPLE”

“I don’t like Hollywood sci-fi films about outer space. This kind of films are usually fantasy pure and simple – what they show runs counter to what science shows in real life. There are also pseudo-sciences that bewilder people. For example, astrology. It is charlatanism. Astrology, as a pseudo-science, criminally undermines faith in the rationality of true science. They think it is enough to have a personal horoscope and follow its advice – for example, not to do business, some personal and career-oriented things on some unsuitable days – and your life will be OK. Nonsense! But people trust charlatans and give them money. There is such thing as modern science, and it is not worthwhile to believe in psychics, horoscopes, fortune-telling, and other charlatanic tricks.”

“MY ELDER BROTHER WAS MY FIRST TEACHER”

“My elder brother was a very well-read man. He would tell me, a little boy, about stars. I heard from him for the first time that there is a star near Sirius, a white dwarf, a pea-size particle of which weighs several tons. The big brother, a philosopher by education, was my first teacher. How did I learn to read? We had a political map of the world, and brother showed me all the countries, cities, and islands on it. I can still remember: the Greater Antilles – Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico; the Lesser Antilles – Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Saint Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, and dozens of other islands. I can still enumerate them. I learned to read on this map. I could read at 4. Naturally, at this age I showed interest in fairytales and Brehm’s books on the life of animals. As I was growing up, I became interested in science fiction – Jules Verne, Wells, Yefremov, Bradbury, Sheckley, et al. Later, I met Robert Sheckley in Kyiv and told him about Rosetta. He was surprised very much and said: ‘We, sci-fi writers, are always inventing something, but here a fantastic reality is coming true. What we invent is perhaps no longer topical compared to what human hands are doing.’

“I have also written some books for children: Mathematic for Little Ones, To Little Ones about Animals, To Little Ones about Boats, To Little Ones about Professions, To Little Ones about Zodiac, The Adventures of Little Dinosaur Dino, and others. They have all been sold are now impossible to come by. Here is an extract from Mathematics for Little Ones:

There are four points in the world.

They are called

North, south, west, and east.

Everybody must know the world.

The north means severe frosts,

All the rivers are ice-bound.

The south means the sea, palms, and flowers.

It’s a proper place for a vacation.

There are even birds of paradise

Flying around.

The Wild West means cowboys,

Courageous toilers and heroes.