Collection of Documents of the Research Institute of Astronomy as a Source Basis From the History of the Development of Astronomical Science

The article is devoted to the topic of representative analysis of archival documents of the history of astronomical science from the period the end of the XIX – the fi rst half of XX century. The purpose of the work is to summarize the results of a complex historical and scientifi c research of the information potential and the content of the retro-informative materials of the documentary collection of the Institute of Astronomy of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University during a certain period. The methodological basis of the study is the principles of historicism, objectivity and a systematic approach to the study of the problem. General scientifi c (historical, comparative, retrospective) and special methods (historical-biographical, historical-systemic, problem-chronological and methods of source analysis) have been used to solve specifi c problems which allowed the complex investigation and analysis of new factual material. Scientifi c novelty. For the fi rst time the information on the composition and content of the documentary collection of the of the Institute of Astronomy of the end of the XIX – the fi rst half of XX century was analyzed; its information potential and order of access to archival primary sources are characterized. It is revealed that the documentary collection of the Institute of Astronomy is a valuable and suffi ciently informative source for reproducing the facts of the history of astronomy in Kharkiv at a certain period, which will signifi cantly supplement the source base of research on the history of domestic and European astronomy. Prospects for further research. Since the vast majority of documents from the reviewed massif have not actually been put into scientifi c circulation, it is planned to continue work on scientifi c and technical development of documentary collection and research of archival information, in particular, in preparation of the advanced scientifi c and research work on the history of astronomy in Kharkiv at the end of XIX – the fi rst half of XX century.