Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
The Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences was founded in 1953. Until then, the observatory on Skalnaté pleso (founder Dr. Bečvář, 1943) had the statute of an astronomical institute . With the establishment of the new institute, it became one of the foundations of the new Slovak Academy of Sciences in Slovakia . With the continuation of the work of former employees of the observatory with current colleagues of the new institute, the two facilities are merging more and more into a comprehensive whole. That is why 1943 can also be described as the year the institute was founded. Today the institute is located on the outskirts of Tatranská Lomnica .
Areas of research and organization of the institute
The institute focuses on the study of the sun , the interplanetary medium and on the astrophysical research of individual stars . About 65 employees are currently working at the institute, of which about 50 are active scientists. The work is carried out in the following departments:
Department of Solar Physics
In the field of solar physics , a constant interest in activities in the solar atmosphere has led to specialization in processes within the solar photosphere , chromosphere and corona . For this purpose, a dedicated coronograph is used, as well as the data from spectral analyzes from the vacuum tower telescope (VTT) at the Observatorio del Teide in Tenerife and data from the solar observatory SOHO . The head of the department is Aleš Kučera.
Interplanetary Medium Department
The research includes the photometry and astrometry of asteroids and comets , carried out with the help of the main telescope of the observatory in Skalnaté Pleso. In addition, cameras with a wide-angle lens are used to observe racing cars. The head of the department is Ján Svoreň.
Department of Star Physics
This department focuses on the study of double stars and multiple star systems. For this purpose, spectroscopic data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and astrometric data from Hipparcos as well as from the Tycho catalog are evaluated or used as a basis. The head of the department is Drahomír Chochol.
Jobs of the institute
The institute operates observatories on Skalnaté pleso and Lomnický štít , as well as an office in Bratislava that deals with theoretical physics and coordinates research on meteorites throughout Slovakia.
The astronomical observatory on Skalnaté pleso (1783 m) was founded in 1943. Two reflectors (one with a CCD camera and the other with a photometer ) are in use, the mirrors of which are each 60 cm in diameter. The solar station on Lomnický Štít has been in operation since 1960. It is equipped with a coronograph and a spectrograph . In the new area of the Astronomical Institute near Tatranská Lomnica, a horizontal telescope for solar observation (also equipped with a spectrograph) and two telescopes with a diameter of 60 cm and 50 cm are in operation.
Directors of the institute
- Antonín Bečvář (1943–1950)
- V. Guth (1951–1956)
- Záviš Bochníček (1956–1958)
- Ludmila Pajdušáková (1958–1979)
- Július Sýkora (1979–1989)
- Ján Štohl (1989–1993)
- Juraj Zverko (1993-2001)
- Ján Svoreň (2001-2009)
- Aleš Kučera (since 2009)
Discoveries
The Astronomical Institute was involved in the discovery of the following comets:
| Surname | designation | Date of discovery | Brightness upon discovery (mag) |
| Pajdušáková rotbar weavers | C / 1946 K1 | 05/30/1946 | 7th |
| Bečvář | C / 1947 F2 | 03/27/1947 | 9 |
| Mrkos | C / 1947 Y1 | December 20, 1947 | 9.5 |
| Pajdušáková-Mrkos | C / 1948 E1 | 02/15/1948 | 10 |
| P / Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková | 45P | December 3rd, 1948 | 9 |
| Pajdušáková | C / 1951 C1 | 02/04/1951 | 8.5 |
| P / Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák | 41P | 04/24/1951 | 10.5 |
| Mrkos | C / 1952 H1 | 04/27/1952 | 10 |
| Mrkos | C / 1952 W1 | 11/28/1952 | 10 |
| Mrkos Honda | C / 1953 G1 | 04/12/1953 | 9 |
| Pajdušáková | C / 1953 X1 | December 3rd, 1953 | 11 |
| Vozárová | C / 1954 O1 | 07/28/1954 | 9 |
| Kresák Peltier | C / 1954 M2 | 06/26/1954 | 10 |
| Mrkos | C / 1955 L1 | 06/12/1955 | 3.5 |
| P / Perrine-Mrkos | 18D | October 19, 1955 | 9 |
| Mrkos | C / 1956 E1 | 03/12/1956 | 9 |
| Mrkos | C / 1957 P1 | 07/29/1957 | 3 |
| Mrkos | C / 1959 X1 | December 3rd, 1959 | 8th |
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Prečo sme, prečo sme tu a kto sme? . Retrieved September 12, 2009.
- ↑ všeobecné o astronomickom ustave . Retrieved September 8, 2009.
- ^ Directors of the Astronomical Institute . Retrieved September 8, 2009.
- ↑ Objavy a fyzika comet . Retrieved September 9, 2009.