Thursday, 28 March 2024

Pavlíček Tomáš, W., Hyklová Petra, Šolc Martin: Astronomers behind the Iron Curtain. Open access

 Pavlíček Tomáš, W., Hyklová Petra, Šolc Martin: Astronomers behind the Iron Curtain: The First Postwar Generation in Czechoslovakia. Prague: Matfyzpress 2024. ISBN: 978-80-7378-507-9

Open access: https://matfyzpress.cz/data/web/astronomers-behind-iron-curtain2.pdf


The inauguration of the two-metre telescope at Ondřejov observatory and the 13th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague in 1967 was an important turning point in astronomy. After the discovery of quasars, new methods of observation were discussed, and the Space Race between two Cold War rivals was culminating. Luboš Perek, father of the mirror reflector and mastermind of the congress, became a leader of the generation of scholars and the Director of the Astronomical Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

The formation of the generation was specific with regard to the war experience. This book shows how students of astronomy became experts and brought their knowledge into society using public observatories as places for the promotion of modern science.

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CfA: Reproductive Governance from Below: Childbearing, Trust, and Community Norms in East Central Europe, 1850–1945

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