The wonder of the world

Andrey Andreevich Solodovnik was born on 19.04.1954 in Petropavlovsk, where his parents and ancestors lived and worked. Here he studied at the school, one of the first in the Soviet Union to bear the glorious name of Yuri Gagarin. The years when Earthlings stepped outside the atmosphere, saw the planet from the outside, reflected on the life and fate of not only individuals, but also entire generations. Much in the world, with its external simplicity and naturalness, can hardly be described in words: whether the flight of clouds with a whimsically changing ligature, a bird song or a solemn symphony of the starry sky. Of course, this also applies to a person's life, the height of his spirit, and therefore it is not easy to tell about it.

The idea of a man, of his purpose in the world, inspired many. So Andrei Solodovnik, a seventh-grader, was no stranger to scientific hobbies, somehow looked at the August starry sky in a different way and was conquered for the rest of his life by the grandiosity of its age-old mystery. It was not easy to enter the world of the universe. Piles of books, and then years of study at the Ural University (Sverdlovsk), and the dream came true – he is a young specialist with the qualification of "astronomer"! He has a modest, but quite real experience of working at distant mountain observatories.

The ways of astronomers at all times are inscrutable. It is not easy to find a place in academically rigorous, filled with mathematical mysteries of science. Andrey worked as a surveyor in Dushanbe, then as a software engineer at the Lenin Plant in Petropavlovsk. However, the stars were called again, and in 1980 he entered graduate school at the Astrophysical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. Here, in the laboratory of physics of the Moon and planets, a strikingly interesting life was going on. In astronomy, then the work on the dissertation did not fit in three years. The demands in science were more than serious. But graduate school is over.

In 1984, A.A. Solodovnik was invited to work at the Petropavlovsk Pedagogical Institute named after K.D. Ushinsky, at the Department of Physics. Andrey Andreevich defended his thesis for the degree of Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences "Numerical modeling of two-condensate layered clouds in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn" in 1987 at the Main Astronomical Observatory of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.

In the Petropavlovsk Pedagogical Institute, there were like-minded friends at the department, including students, young people full of strength and optimism, with whom it was possible to turn mountains. And already in 1985, an initiative group of "astronomers" declared themselves at the university. It included not only physicists, but also children of other specialties, as well as schoolchildren and people of other professions. The most important stage of the group's work was the creation in 1989 of the Astronomical Observatory of NKSU, equipped with a 0.4 m Cassegrain telescope. It was located in the suburbs on the territory of the Agrobiostation of the Institute. Intense scientific work has begun. A Laboratory of Astrophysical Research has emerged, aimed at studying the nature of stars, the physics of near space, including silvery clouds, and the practice of telescope construction. The first expeditions were conducted to observe total solar eclipses (1990 – in the area of Belomorsk, 1997 – in Transbaikalia).

A.A. Solodovnik in these years went from a teacher to the head of the Department of Physics. He held this position from 1989 to 2005, combining organizational and academic work with intensive scientific activity. In 1993 he received the academic title of associate Professor of astronomy, and in 1997 he was awarded the badge "Excellent of Public Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan".

In the 90s, the project "Space House of the Future" was conceived. His incarnation lasted for 10 years and required a lot of effort. In 2004, a new Observatory appeared in Petropavlovsk. The main instrument was a very powerful telescope of the Ritchie-Chretien system for the university (aperture 0.77 m), equipped with modern receiving equipment. At the same time, for the first time, a planetarium appeared in Petropavlovsk. The second base of scientific astronomical research in the Republic of Kazakhstan was formed in the NKSU, the specialty "Astronomy" was opened. The observatory of NKSU is the only observatory in universities of Kazakhstan!

Andrey Andreevich focused on the organization and management of scientific projects. From 2004 to 2015, he supervised 9 topics of scientific papers on grants of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan concerning the physics of near and far space. In the end, important results were achieved: new conceptual approaches to understanding the causes of the origin and evolution of silvery clouds, the physical nature of long-period variable stars were developed. These works, as time has shown, have a world-class scientific priority and have received the approval of the astronomical community of Kazakhstan, Russia and abroad. On the diversity of scientific interests of A.A. Solodovnik points out that the astronomers of the university under his leadership have carried out comprehensive studies of meteor activity, as well as short-term lunar phenomena, at a high level, having determined the promising topics of astronomical research at the university. The scientist has contributed to the study of cosmology, philosophy of science, technology of astronomy education, has works on theology.

Today, the main results of A.A. Solodovnik's scientific work are presented in more than 170 publications, including those with an international impact factor. It is impossible to imagine A.A. Solodovnik without his numerous students, whose successes he sincerely rejoice. In 2010, under his leadership, two dissertations for the degree of Candidate of physical and mathematical sciences were defended, and more than two dozen successfully trained masters. In 2016, Andrey Andreevich was elected a corresponding member of the Kazakhstan Academy of Natural Sciences.

The scientific school of Solodovnik attracts gifted schoolchildren, under his leadership, dozens of students defended scientific projects, performed at Olympiads. He masterfully promotes astronomical knowledge to the general population, he has published more than a hundred articles in the regional and republican press, on the Internet, conducted many dozens of television appearances and thematic broadcasts.

Andrey Andreevich is distinguished by an active life position. From 1989 to 1993, he was a deputy of the regional Council of People's Deputies, worked in a trade union. He is associated with the Immortal Regiment movement, the Orthodox parishes of the Church of the First Apostles Peter and Paul and the Church of All Saints. The hobbies of his soul include phenology, ornithology, mycology, historical and natural science local lore.

Years go by, but the wonder of the universe is alive and the dream is alive. Andrey Andreevich plans to develop an Observatory, switch to automated observation methods, develop a new theory of stellar variability, prepare a monograph on silvery clouds, search for extraterrestrial matter and, of course, further development of the scientific laboratory of the Manash Kozybaev State University.

Leontiev P.I., Docent of the Department of Physics