Ondřejov Observatory Explained

The Ondřejov Observatory (in Czech pronounced as /ˈondr̝ɛjof/; Czech: Observatoř Ondřejov) is the principal observatory of the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. It is located in the municipality of Ondřejov, 35km (22miles) southeast of Prague, Czech Republic. It has a 2m (07feet) wide telescope, which is the largest in the Czech Republic.

History

The facility was constructed in 1898, by Czech amateur astronomer and entrepreneur Josef Jan Frič as a private observatory. On 28 October 1928, he donated the facility to the Czechoslovak state to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its independence.[1] The observatory, located at an altitude of 500m (1,600feet), away from the air and light pollution of urban Prague, was administered by Charles University until the founding of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1953, which from then on operated it as part of its Astronomical Institute in conjunction with other Czechoslovak observatories.

In 1967, a telescope measuring 2m (07feet) in width was added to the observatory, which at that time was the 7th largest telescope in the world. Now it is the largest telescope in the Czech Republic and is in the second hundred in the world.[2]

It has been responsible, among other scientific achievements, for the discovery of numerous asteroids; more recent works of astronomers from Ondřejov include examination of the trajectory and origin of the Chelyabinsk meteor. More than 700 minor planets have been discovered at this observatory.[3] While most of these discoveries are officially credited to the astronomers who discovered them, a remaining 23 minor planets are directly credited to "Ondrejov" (the observatory itself) by the Minor Planet Center for the period 1997–2008.[4]

The main-belt asteroid 7204 Ondřejov, discovered by Petr Pravec in 1995, was named for the village where the observatory is located.[5]

Minor planets discovered: 23 
see

List of discovered minor planets

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25 September 1997
25 September 1997
2 October 1999
2 October 1999
24 March 1999
6 May 2000
28 July 2001
26 August 2001
28 September 2002
28 July 2001
16 April 2002
29 July 2001
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26 April 2000
16 February 1999
8 March 2002
23 September 1999
15 August 2001
5 November 2008
14 October 2001
19 September 2001
12 October 2001
6 November 2008
2 December 1999

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Dorschner, J., & Löffler, G., Astronomy, a Popular History, (New York City: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1975).
  2. News: Největší dalekohled v Česku vznikl před 50 lety se štěstím. Teď zkoumá vzdálený vesmír. Aktuálně.cz. 23 August 2017. cs.
  3. Web site: Numbered asteroids discovered at Ondřejov. Ondřejov Obsrevatory. 1 March 2016. 9 January 2017.
  4. Web site: Minor Planet Discoverers (by number). Minor Planet Center. 14 November 2016. 29 November 2016.
  5. Book: Schmadel, Lutz D.. Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (7204) Ondřejov. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. 583. 2007. 978-3-540-00238-3. 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_6350 . (7204) Ondřejov.