Press Release

NAS RA V. Ambartsumian Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO)
Press release 08.11.2019

KAMO GIGOYAN - 60

Dr. Kamo Gigoyan, one of the most productive researchers at BAO, celebrates his 60th anniversary.

Kamo Gigoyan was born on Nov 8, 1959 in the village Shnogh of Alaverdi district in North of Armenia. In 1984 he graduated from the Department of Physics of the Yerevan State University (YSU) with a specialization of Astrophysics and joined BAO, the Laboratory of the 2.6m telescope. He was a post-graduate at BAO in 1987-1990 and took his Ph.D. degree in Physical and Mathematical Sciences in 1994. Since 1995 Gigoyan was a Research Associate at BAO and since 2007 he is a Senior Research Associate. In addition, he is a fellow of the 2.6m telescope Laboratory.

Gigoyan’s research fields include late-type stars (including their surveys, detailed photometric, spectroscopic, and NIR studies), as well as 2MASS and IRAS sources. Gigoyan was also involved in the project of the Digitized First Byurakan Survey (DFBS). 2015-2018 he participated to and later on became the head of the BAO Plate Archive Digitization Project.

Among Gigoyan’s important scientific results are: selection of 1471 late-type stars in the First Byurakan Survey (FBS) and discovery of hundreds of new ones among them (including 95 high galactic latitude carbon stars), discovery of 2 new carbon dwarfs, discovery of an extreme object FBS 2213+421 (postAGB and pre-planetary nebula), discovery of a very high proper motion star FBS 0250+167 (PM=5.13 as/yr), discovery of a number of Mira type and semi-regular variables among the FBS late-type stars, spectroscopic studies of a large number of FBS late-type stars, and optical identification and studies of hundreds of IRAS sources (Byurakan-IRAS Stars, BIS).

Due to his activities Gigoyan has established scientific collaborations and actively works with astronomers from France (Observatoire de Marseille, Universite Montpellier II), Germany (Hamburger Sternwarte), UK (University of Hertfordshire), and others. He has been invited for collaboration to a number of astronomical centres in France, Italy, Germany, and Latvia. Gigoyan has carried out observational projects with a number of telescopes, including BAO 2.6m, Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP) 1.93m, ESO 3.5m NTT and 2.2m, Beijing Observatory IR 1.25m, Asiago 1.83m and Loiano 1.5m telescopes. He is in fact one of the most experienced observing astronomers at BAO.

Gigoyan has published more than 80 scientific papers in Astrofizika (Astrophysics), Astron. Astrophysics, Astronomicheski Zhurnal (Astron. Reports), Astron. Astrophys. Transactions, Mem. S.A.It., and in proceedings of international meetings. He is the author of a number of electronic catalogs in Vizier (CDS, France). Among Gigoyan’s organizational and public activities are his participation in LOCs of several Byurakan meetings and summer schools, and supervision of public visits to BAO during many years. Gigoyan is a member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU, 1997) and the European Astronomical Society (EAS, 1995). He is a founding member of ArAS (1999/2001).

We congratulate Dr. Gigoyan and wish him further fruitful research and new scientific results.

Meline Asryan