Luboš Kohoutek

Luboš Kohoutek (January 29 1935, Zábřeh in Moravia) is a Czech astronomer.

Kohoutek has been interested with astronomy since high school. He studied physics and astronomy at universities in Brno and Prague (finished 1958). Then he started to work in Astronomical Institute of Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, where he published well cited catalog ("Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae", 1967). Kohoutek obtained long term position in observatory in Hamburg-Bergedorf. After Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia (1968) he decided to stay in Germany (1970). His discoveries in 70's made him well known in media. In later years Kohoutek worked in observatories in Spain and Chile, working with planetary nebulae. He retired in 2001. Kohoutek published 162 scientific works.

Astronomical discoveries

Kohoutek is most famous for discoveries of numerous comets, including periodic comets 75P/Kohoutek and 76P/West-Kohoutek-Ikemura, as well as the famously disappointing non-periodic "Comet Kohoutek" (C/1973 E1).

He also discovered numerous asteroids, including the Apollo asteroid 1865 Cerberus.

The asteroid 1850 Kohoutek was named in his honour.

* with A. Kriete

External links

* [http://www.asu.cas.cz/cesky/new/kohoutek.html Biography (in Czech)]
* [http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/L/Lu/Lubos_Kohoutek.htm List of discoveries]