Zdeňka Vávrová (born 1945)
is a
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
.
She co-discovered periodic
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
134P/Kowal-Vávrová. She had observed it as an asteroid, which received the
provisional designation
Provisional designation in astronomy is the naming convention applied to astronomical objects immediately following their discovery. The provisional designation is usually superseded by a permanent designation once a reliable orbit has been calcu ...
1983 JG, without seeing any cometary
coma
A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
. However, later images by
Charles T. Kowal showed a coma. The
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Function
...
credits her with the discovery of 115 numbered
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s.
The
Florian main-belt asteroid
3364 Zdenka, discovered by
Antonín Mrkos
Antonín Mrkos () (27 January 1918, Střemchoví – 29 May 1996, Prague) was a Czechs, Czech astronomer.
Biography
Mrkos entered the University in Brno in 1938. His studies were interrupted by the onset of World War II, and in 1945 he became ...
in 1984, was named in her honor and for the 20 years she had been participating in
Kleť Observatory
Kleť Observatory ( cz, Hvězdárna Kleť; obs. code: 046) is an astronomical observatory in the Czech Republic. It is situated in South Bohemia, south of the summit of Mount Kleť, near the town of České Budějovice. Constructed in 1957, t ...
's minor planet
astrometry
Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way.
His ...
program.
Naming citation was published on 26 February 1994 ().
List of discovered minor planets
See also
*
References
External links
Zdenka Vávrová - Czech and Slovak comet discoverers
1945 births
Czechoslovak astronomers
Discoverers of asteroids
Discoverers of comets
*
Living people
Women astronomers
{{CzechRepublic-scientist-stub