Luboš Kohoutek

Luboš Kohoutek (born January 29, 1935 in Zábřeh , Czechoslovakia ) is a Czech astronomer .

The comet discovered by Kohoutek and named after him.

Life

Luboš Kohoutek studied physics and astronomy in Brno and Prague until 1958 . He then worked in the Astronomical Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences . After the crackdown on the Prague Spring in 1968, Kohoutek emigrated to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1970 . Since then - even after his retirement in 2001 - he has been working at the observatory in Hamburg-Bergedorf . The composer Ctirad Kohoutek was his brother; Luboš Kohoutek named the asteroid he discovered in the outer main belt (2375) Radek after Ctirad Kohoutek.

Astronomical discoveries

1967 started Lubos Perek and Lubos Kohoutek their Catalog of Galactic Planetary Nebulae (Catalog of galactic planetary nebulae ). At that time it was the most comprehensive catalog with 1036 entries. The catalog included both known nebulae and own discoveries (e.g. K 3-67 ).

Kohoutek discovered the well-known long-period comet C / 1973 E1 (Kohoutek) , which he first sighted on March 7, 1973 and which was named after him. This comet should not be confused with the short-period comets 75D / Kohoutek and 76P / West-Kohoutek-Ikemura , also discovered by Kohoutek . Kohoutek is the discoverer of numerous other comets and asteroids.

The 1973 discovery of the comet sparked comet hysteria, as early observations suggested that it would become one of the brightest comets of the century. However, the actual brightness development lagged significantly behind the predictions.

The enthusiasm for Comet Kohoutek left its mark on popular music in the form of the “Concert for the Comet Kohoutek” by Sun Ra and in songs by Kraftwerk (“Kohoutek - Comet Melody”), REM and 808 State (both entitled “Kohoutek”) ), Václav Neckář ("Comet Kohoutek") and Willem ("Oh, you shock, the Kohoutek").

In honor of his achievements, the asteroid (1850) Kohoutek was named after him.

Furthermore, Kohoutek discovered the main belt asteroid (4425) Bilk in 1967 .

Publications (selection)

Luboš Kohoutek, Rudolf Kippenhahn , Holger Heuseler, Hans Oberndorfer : The Kohoutek comet of the century. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1973, ISBN 3-421-02379-4 .
The earth from the perspective of an astronomer: non-fiction book. August-von-Goethe-Literaturverlag, Frankfurt 2007, ISBN 978-3-86548-887-9 .
Our living space in danger: the earth's atmosphere. August-von-Goethe-Literaturverlag, Frankfurt 2009, ISBN 978-1-84698-977-3 .

Web links

Literature by and about Luboš Kohoutek in the catalog of the German National Library
Luboš Kohoutek on the Hamburg observatory website
Literature and other media by and about Luboš Kohoutek in the catalog of the National Library of the Czech Republic
Publications by Luboš Kohoutek in the Astrophysics Data System

Individual evidence

^ Lutz D. Schmadel : Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition. Ed .: Lutz D. Schmadel. 5th edition. Springer Verlag , Berlin , Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7 , pp. 186 (English, 992 pp., Link.springer.com [ONLINE; accessed on August 5, 2019] Original title: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . First edition: Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 1992): “1975 AA. Discovered 1975 Jan. 8 by L. Kohoutek at Bergedorf. "

personal data
SURNAME	Kohoutek, Luboš
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Czech astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH	January 29, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH	Zábřeh , Czechoslovakia

[1] Lutz D. Schmadel : Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . Fifth Revised and Enlarged Edition. Ed .: Lutz D. Schmadel. 5th edition. Springer Verlag , Berlin , Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7 , pp. 186 (English, 992 pp., Link.springer.com [ONLINE; accessed on August 5, 2019] Original title: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names . First edition: Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 1992): “1975 AA. Discovered 1975 Jan. 8 by L. Kohoutek at Bergedorf. "