Juraj Tóth (born 28 March 1975) is a Slovak

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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

, discoverer of

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 '' ...

s, and professor of astronomy at

Comenius University Comenius University in Bratislava ( sk, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave) is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is name ...

in Bratislava,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. An expert in

meteoroid A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mic ...

fragmentation, he is known for his observations of the 1998

Leonid meteor shower The Leonids ( ) are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle, which are also known for their spectacular meteor storms that occur about every 33 years. The Leonids get their name from the location of their radiant i ...

from

Modra Observatory The Astronomical Observatory of Modra ( sk, Astronomické observatórium Modra), also known as Modra Observatory or the Astronomical and Geophysical observatory in Modra, is an astronomical observatory located in Modra, Slovakia. It is owned and ...

, which were later published in the journal ''

Earth, Moon, and Planets ''Earth, Moon, and Planets'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published approximately ten times per year by Springer Science+Business Media. It was established in 1969 under the title ''The Moon'', was known as ''The Moon and the Planets'' fr ...

''. His photograph of the Leonid meteor shower was credited by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

. Tóth is a member 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, outreach ...

and currently a professor at

in the department of astronomy. He is credited by 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 ...

with the discovery and co-discovery of 16 numbered minor planets between 1998 and 2001. He has published in numerous journals on astronomy, mainly on meteoroids. His work, ''Orbital Evolution of Příbram and Neuschwanstein'', has been shown in the

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution, concentrating on astrophysical studies including galactic and extragalactic astronomy, cosmology, solar, earth and planetary sciences, the ...

. In 2010, he led a field expedition, which found the first piece of the "Košice"

meteorite fall A meteorite fall, also called an observed fall, is a meteorite collected after its fall from outer space was observed by people or automated devices. Any other meteorite is called a " find". There are more than 1,100 documented falls listed in ...

. Košice is the 14th meteorite in the world with a pedigree. He is married and has three children. The main-belt asteroid 24976 Jurajtoth, discovered by

LONEOS Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search (LONEOS) was a project designed to discover asteroids and comets that orbit near the Earth. The project, funded by NASA, was directed by astronomer Ted Bowell of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, A ...

in 1998, was named in his honor.

Publications

* Porubčan, V., Tóth, J., Yano, H.: ''On fragmentation of meteoroids in interplanetary space'', Contrib. Astron. Obs. Skalnaté Pleso, 32, 132 - 144. (2002) * Vereš, P.; Kornos, L.; Tóth, J.: ''Search for very close approaching NEAs'', Contrib. Astron. Obs. Skalnat´e Pleso 36, 171 – 180, (2006) * Vereš, P.; Klačka, J.; Kómar1, L.; Tóth, J.: ''Motion of a Meteoroid Released from an Asteroid '', Earth, Moon, and Planets v.102:1-4, p. 47-51. (June, 2008) * Tóth, J.; Kornos, L.; Porubčan, V.: ''Photographic Leonids 1998 Observed at Modra Observatory'', Earth, Moon, and Planets v.82-83:0, 285-294. * Kornoš, L.; Tóth, J.; Vereš, P.: ''Orbital Evolution of Příbram and Neuschwanstein'', Earth, Moon, and Planets, v.102:1-4, 59-65

References

External links

Juraj Tóth
at Comenius University
CV
Juraj Tóth 1975 births Comenius University alumni Academic staff of Comenius University Discoverers of minor planets * Living people Slovak astronomers Scientists from Bratislava {{Europe-astronomer-stub