Rozhen Observatory ( bg, Национална астрономическа обсерватория - Рожен, ''НАО-Рожен''; en, National Astronomical Observatory - Rozhen, ''NAO-Rozhen''), also known as the Bulgarian National Astronomical Observatory, is an

astronomical observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. H ...

, located in the Smolyan Province, 90 kilometers south of the city of

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. The nearest town, Chepelare, is 15 kilometers away. The observatory is owned and operated by the Institute of Astronomy of the

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy ...

(BAS). It was officially opened on 13 March 1981, almost 20 years after Bogomil Kovachev – a professor of astronomy at BAS, known as its founder – had started working towards that goal. The Observatory is the largest in Southeastern Europe and has an active team of about 50 astronomers. It is the principal center for astronomical research in Bulgaria. The minor planet

6267 Rozhen 6267 Rozhen, provisional designation , is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. In 1987, the asteroid was discovered by Eric Elst at Rozhen Observatory, Bulgaria, and was l ...

, was discovered at, and named after the observatory. With its total cost of over $10 million at the time, it still remains to day the largest one-time investment in scientific infrastructure that Bulgaria ever made. ;Telescopes * 200 cm Ritchey-Chretien telescope (supplied with Coude focus) * 60 cm Cassegrain telescope * 50/70 cm Schmidt camera * 15 cm

Solar telescope A solar telescope is a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun. Solar telescopes usually detect light with wavelengths in, or not far outside, the visible spectrum. Obsolete names for Sun telescopes include heliograph and photoheliograp ...

WASP-3c & TTV

Transit Timing Variation Transit-timing variation is a method for detecting exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confi ...

(TTV), a variation on the transit method, was used to discover an exoplanet

WASP-3c WASP-3 is a magnitude 10 yellow-white dwarf star located about 800 light-years away in the Lyra constellation. It appears to be variable; it "passed from a less active (log R'_hk=-4.95) to a more active (log R'_hk=-4.8) state between 200 ...

by Rozhen Observatory,

Jena Observatory Astrophysikalisches Institut und Universitäts-Sternwarte Jena (AIU Jena, Astrophysical Institute and University Observatory Jena, or simply Jena Observatory) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Friedrich Schiller University of J ...

, and

Toruń Centre for Astronomy The Institute of Astronomy of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, known prior to 1 October 2019 in scientific publications as the Toruń Centre for Astronomy, is an optical and radio observatory located at () in Piwnice, about 15 k ...

.http://www.scientificcomputing.com/news-DS-Planet-Hunting-Finding-Earth-like-Planets-071910.aspx "Planet Hunting: Finding Earth-like Planets"

References

External links

Official site

Bulgarian National Astronomical Observatory

Home Institute site

{{Portal bar, Bulgaria, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Astronomical observatories in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Smolyan Province

WASP-3c & TTV

See also

References

External links