Born Aug. 20 (Sept. 2), 1915, in Petrograd. Soviet astronomer. Corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1958).
Sobolev graduated from Leningrad University in 1938. He became a professor at the university in 1948.
Sobolev's principal works deal with theoretical astrophysics. He has developed a theory of the spectra of variable stars. He has introduced new methods into the theory of radiation transfer and has applied them to the solution of many astrophysical problems. He has investigated physical processes in gaseous nebulas and in the atmosphere of stars and planets.
Sobolev has been awarded two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor and several medals.
Dvizhushchiesia obolochki zvezd. Leningrad, 1947.
Perenos luchistoi energii v atmosferakh zvezd iplanet. Moscow, 1956.
Kurs teoreticheskoi astrofiziki, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1975.
Rasseianie sveta v atmosferakh planet. Moscow, 1972.