Zdeněk Švestka (30 September 1925 – 2 March 2013) was a Czech astronomer. For several decades he was the world's leading expert on

solar flare A solar flare is an intense localized eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and other sola ...

s. He studied mathematics and physics at

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 , underg ...

, Prague, until graduating in 1948. Together with

Cornelis de Jager Cornelis "Kees" de Jager (; 29 April 1921 – 27 May 2021) was a Dutch astronomer who specialized in predicting solar variation to assess the Sun's impact on future climate. He was the General Secretary of the IAU from 1967 to 1973 and former d ...

, he was the co-founder and editor of the journal ''

Solar Physics Solar physics is the branch of astrophysics that specializes in the study of the Sun. It deals with detailed measurements that are possible only for our closest star. It intersects with many disciplines of pure physics, astrophysics, and com ...

''. For 38 years, from the establishment of the journal in 1967 until his retirement in 2005, he handled all papers on solar flares, while De Jager took care of everything else. The minor planet

17805 Švestka Year 178 ( CLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scipio and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 931 ''Ab urbe con ...

was named after him.Van Driel-Gesztelyi, Lidia
"Zdeněk Švestka 1925 - 2013."
SolarNews. SolarNews, 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

References

Czech astronomers 2013 deaths 1925 births Scientists from Prague Charles University alumni {{Astronomer-stub