Valentin D. Ivanov
Encyclopedia
Valentin D. Ivanov is a Bulgarian astronomer
, currently working in the European Southern Observatory
, mainly at the Paranal site. Among his primary research areas are the dynamics of star cluster
s, formation of star
s, brown dwarf
s, and exoplanets around such objects.
Valentin Ivanov and Ray Jayawardhana
are two of the pioneers of the investigation of the planemos, a special cast of exoplanets. Recently, they announced the discovery of the first double planemo Oph 162225-240515
. This discovery, came just before the debate about the 2006 planet definition, and posed the problem about the distinction between planet
s and low-mass stars (brown dwarfs)
in 1967. He obtained his master degree in physics and astronomy at the University of Sofia in 1992. He earned a PhD degree at the University of Arizona
, Tucson, Arizona
, U.S.A. in 2001. He became a fellow at the European Southern Observatory
, Cerro Paranal
, and since 2003 he has been a staff astronomer at the European Southern Observatory
, Paranal where he is currently instrument scientist for the wide-field near-infrared camera VIRCAM mounted at the VISTA (telescope)
. In 2006, together with Kiril Dobrev, he has published a Science Fiction
story collection in Bulgarian
.
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
, currently working in the European Southern Observatory
European Southern Observatory
The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...
, mainly at the Paranal site. Among his primary research areas are the dynamics of star cluster
Star cluster
Star clusters or star clouds are groups of stars. Two types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of hundreds of thousands of very old stars which are gravitationally bound, while open clusters, more loosely clustered groups of stars, generally contain less than...
s, formation of star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s, brown dwarf
Brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth...
s, and exoplanets around such objects.
Valentin Ivanov and Ray Jayawardhana
Ray Jayawardhana
Ray Jayawardhana is an astronomer at the University of Toronto, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics, and an award-winning science writer...
are two of the pioneers of the investigation of the planemos, a special cast of exoplanets. Recently, they announced the discovery of the first double planemo Oph 162225-240515
Oph 162225-240515
Oph 162225-240515, often abbreviated Oph1622, is a pair of brown dwarfs that have been reported as orbiting each other. The bodies are located in the constellation Ophiuchus and are about 400 light years away...
. This discovery, came just before the debate about the 2006 planet definition, and posed the problem about the distinction between planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s and low-mass stars (brown dwarfs)
Background
Valentin D. Ivanov was born in the town of Bourgas, BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
in 1967. He obtained his master degree in physics and astronomy at the University of Sofia in 1992. He earned a PhD degree at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, Tucson, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, U.S.A. in 2001. He became a fellow at the European Southern Observatory
European Southern Observatory
The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...
, Cerro Paranal
Cerro Paranal
Cerro Paranal , also known as Paranal Mountain is a mountain in the Atacama desert of northern Chile that is home to the Paranal Observatory. It is famous for hosting the Very Large Telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope. It is located 120 km west of Antofagasta and 80 km north of Taltal,...
, and since 2003 he has been a staff astronomer at the European Southern Observatory
European Southern Observatory
The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...
, Paranal where he is currently instrument scientist for the wide-field near-infrared camera VIRCAM mounted at the VISTA (telescope)
VISTA (telescope)
The VISTA is a reflecting telescope with a 4.1 metre mirror, located at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. It is operated by the European Southern Observatory and saw first light in December 2009...
. In 2006, together with Kiril Dobrev, he has published a Science Fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
story collection in Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
.