Alla Korsun

Ukraine

1933-2020

Obituary:

It’s with great sorrow we announce that on November 22, 2020, Alla Korsun died. She was a veteran of the Main Astronomical Observatory (MAO) of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a senior researcher, participant and successor of the famous Orlov-Fedorov Scientific School, researcher and popularizer of the history of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine.

Alla Korsun was born on November 16, 1933. After graduating from Secondary School № 4 of Uzhhorod in 1952, she entered the Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She successfully graduated as astrophysicist in 1958. During 1958-1960 she worked at the Poltava Gravimetric Observatory of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the group of researchers who studied variations of latitude. Since August 1, 1960, she started to work at the Main Astronomical Observatory of the NAS of Ukraine (the group which investigated the motion and variations of Earth’s pole of the Department of fundamental astrometry).

A. Korsun studied the peculiarities of latitude variations of the world observatories and was engaged in determining the motion of the Earth’s poles. She was a co-author of the great collective work “Publication of the Earth's Pole from 1890.0 to 1969.0” (Publishing House "Naukova Dumka", Kyiv, 1972, 264 p.), which received wide international recognition. A lot of attention Alla Korsun paid to the secular motion of the Earth's pole and its possible causes.

Her special interest was the history of foundation and development of the Main Astronomical Observatory of the NAS of Ukraine, the life and work of its first director A.Ya. Orlov and those who continued to develop the Main Astronomical Observatory of Ukraine.

A. Korsun paid attention to all aspects of the Observatory’s life about its future, which was shown in her publications and her participation in the establishment of the Research and Training Center of the Main Astronomical Observatory of the NAS of Ukraine.

We are deeply sorry about the loss of this incredible woman. She will be deeply miss for the Main Astronomical Observatory of the NAS of Ukraine

On behalf of the staff of the Main Astronomical Observatory of NAS of Ukraine,
Ya. Yatskiv, Director of the Main Astronomical Observatory of NAS of Ukraine,
M. Medvedskyi, Head of the Department of Astrometry and Space Geodynamics of MAO of NAS of Ukraine,
and I. Kriachko, Head of the Laboratory of Methodological and Information Support of Education and Science of MAO of NAS of Ukraine.