Dr. Markarian was an
astronomer with the
Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory near
Yerevan,
Armenia.He discovered a new class of
galaxies in the 1960's.
These galaxies have been shown to be some of the most active and
energetic objects in the
universe, and it is likely that these galaxies hide
supermassive black holes in their cores.
Markarian and his researchers used a small one meter telescope and installed an objective prism in its front, allowing them to photograph the spectra of hundreds of faint galaxies at the same time. This allowed them to identify and tabulate scores of Markarian Galaxies. Such catalogues are now used universally by scientists studying these objects. In the summer of 1988, the International Astronomical Union held a symposium on Markarian Galaxies at Byurakan where some 150 scientists from around the world presented their research.
Markarian lived a modest and short life. He passed away due to a heart problem.