Luboš Perek (26 July 1919 – 17 September 2020) was a Czech astronomer best known for his ''Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae'' co-written in 1967 with

Luboš Kohoutek Luboš Kohoutek (; 29 January 1935 – 30 December 2023) was a Czech astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets, including Comet Kohoutek which was visible to the naked eye in 1973. He also discovered a large number of planetary ne ...

. He worked on the distribution of mass in the galaxy, high-velocity stars, planetary nebulae, definition of outer space, geostationary orbit, space debris, and management of outer space. Perek graduated from

Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) (; ) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno, it now consists of ten faculties and 35,115 students. It is named after To ...

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

, in 1946, earned his PhD in Astronomy from

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, in 1956, and earned his DSc in Astronomy in 1961. He published 44 papers on stellar dynamics and planetary nebulae and 80 papers and articles on the geostationary orbit, definition of outer space, space debris, and protection of space environment. The asteroid 2900 Luboš Perek, discovered by his fellow astronomer Kohoutek, was named after him. The largest telescope in the Czech Republic was also named after Perek.

Positions

* Corresponding Member of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1965 * Associate Professor, Masaryk University from 1952 to 1956 * Visiting Professor,

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

1964 * General Secretary of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

1967–1970 * Director of the Astronomical Institute of

Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...

1968–1975 * Chief, Outer Space Affairs Division,

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

1975–1980

Medals

* University of Liège (1969) * ADION (1972) * T. Hagecius de Hajek (1980) * Nagy Ernö (1981) * Zagreb University (1982) * City of Paris (1982) * Collège de France (1986) *

Prix Jules Janssen The Prix Jules Janssen is the highest award of the Société astronomique de France (SAF), the French astronomical society. This annual prize is given to a professional French astronomer or to an astronomer of another nationality in recognition ...

of the Societé Astronomique de France (1992)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perek, Lubos Czech astronomers 1919 births 2020 deaths Masaryk University alumni Czech men centenarians Charles University alumni Scientists from Prague Czechoslovak astronomers