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 (, born 29 January 1935) is 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 nebulae. Biography ...

. 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) ( cs, Masarykova univerzita; la, Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the seco ...

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

, in 1946, earned his PhD in Astronomy from

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, 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 is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

1964 * General Secretary of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

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 an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 centenarians Men centenarians Charles University alumni Scientists from Prague Czechoslovak astronomers