Skalnaté pleso Observatory

The Skalnaté pleso Observatory (Observatórium Skalnaté pleso; obs. code: 056) is an astronomical and meteorological observatory in the Tatra Mountains of Slovakia. It is located at an altitude of 1786 m on the south-eastern slopes of Lomnický štít near Tatranská Lomnica. The observatory is named after a nearby mountain lake (Skalnaté pleso, literally: "Rocky Tarn").

Description


The observatory produced the popular sky atlas Skalnate Pleso Atlas of the Heavens by Antonín Bečvář, who founded the observatory in 1943. It is also known for its visual comet hunting and for its astrometric observations and discoveries of minor planets. The asteroid 2619 Skalnaté Pleso was named in honor of the observatory.

Noted astronomers who worked at the observatory include Milan Antal, Antonín Mrkos, Ľudmila Pajdušáková and Margita Kresáková (née Vozárová), as well as Alois Paroubek and Regina Podstanická. Discoveries include the minor planets 1807 Slovakia and 1989 Tatry.