astronomy

Gennadiy Borisov

Gennadiy Borisov is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gennadiy Borisov rather than just read about it. In short: Gennadiy Vladimirovich Borisov (Russian: Генна́дий Влади́мирович Бори́сов; born 1962 in Kramatorsk) is a Crimean telescope maker and amateur astronomer who discovered the first-known interstellar comet, 2I/Borisov, in 2019. Work Borisov works as an engineer at the Crimean Astronomical Station of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute of Moscow State University.

Key takeaways

Gennadiy Borisov belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gennadiy Borisov to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gennadiy Borisov from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gennadiy Vladimirovich Borisov (Russian: Генна́дий Влади́мирович Бори́сов; born 1962 in Kramatorsk) is a Crimean telescope maker and amateur astronomer who discovered the first-known interstellar comet, 2I/Borisov, in 2019.

Work Borisov works as an engineer at the Crimean Astronomical Station of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute of Moscow State University. There, he maintains the telescopes, but does not make observations himself. He also works with Astronomicheskiy Nauchnyy Tsentr JSC, creating experimental telescopes in collaboration with Roscosmos.

Borisov pursues astronomy in his spare time at his personal observatory MARGO located in Nauchnyi, in the southern part of the Crimean peninsula. Between 2013 and 2019, he discovered nine comets and several near-Earth objects (NEOs) such as 2013 TV135. These discoveries were made using telescopes he designed and built himself: GENON (2 comets), GENON Max (5 comets) and the HGB-650 0.65 m telescope (2 comets, including 2I/Borisov). In 2014, Borisov received two Edgar Wilson Awards for his discoveries of C/2013 N4 and C/2013 V2. Borisov also discovered the asteroid 2023 BU, another near-Earth object that passed within 4,000 km of the Earth in January 2023. He also observed cometary activity on NEO (523822) 2012 DG61, making it a Near-Earth Comet (NEC). The cometary activity was later independently discovered and confirmed by scientists of the Active Asteroids project.

Discovery of 2I/Borisov In early 2019, Borisov completed his new 0.65-meter telescope. On August 30, 2019, he used this telescope to discover the first known interstellar comet, 2I/Borisov, which is only the second interstellar object to have been observed. Borisov described his discovery thus:

I observed it on August 29, but it was August 30 GMT. I saw a moving object in the frame, it moved in a direction that was slightly different from that of main asteroids. I measured its coordinates and consulted the Minor Planet Center database. Turned out, it was a new object. Then I measured the near-Earth object rating, it is calculated from various parameters, and it turned out to be 100% – in other words, dangerous. In such cases I must immediately post the parameters to the world webpage for confirmation of dangerous asteroids. I posted it and wrote that the object was diffuse and that it was not an asteroid, but a comet. The discovery of 2I/Borisov by Gennadiy Borisov has been compared to the discovery of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh. Tombaugh was also an amateur astronomer who was building his own telescopes, although he discovered Pluto using Lowell Observatory's astrograph.

Discovery of 2023 BU On January 21, 2023, Borisov discovered the relatively small asteroid 2023 BU, only 5 days before it would pass an initially calculated 9,975 ± 27 km (6,198 ± 17 mi) from the centerpoint of Earth, closer than geostationary satellites but further than low Earth orbit satellites.

Views Borisov thinks that soon amateur astronomers will no longer be able to discover new comets: "In 2016, only I discovered a comet. In 2013, there were seven of us. Every year there are less and less. There are more and more huge telescopes. Amateurs will soon have nothing left."

See also List of comets discovered by Gennadiy Borisov

Notes

References

External links A video interview with Borisov (in Russian, but subtitles can be enabled with auto-translation into English) A written interview with Borisov by Stefan Kürti.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gennadiy Borisov

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gennadiy Borisov claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gennadiy Borisov before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gennadiy Borisov ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gennadiy Borisov

In research: Gennadiy Borisov appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gennadiy Borisov in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gennadiy Borisov is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1962 births, Amateur astronomers, Discoverers of comets, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gennadiy Borisov outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gennadiy Borisov in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gennadiy Borisov means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gennadiy Borisov out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gennadiy Borisov in simple terms?

Why does Gennadiy Borisov matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gennadiy Borisov?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gennadiy Borisov.