Astronomical Observatory of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun - a scientific institution for space observation, scientific research, popularization of knowledge about the universeie. It is a scientific part of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, educating students of the Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science. Location The Nicolaus Copernicus University Astronomical Observatory is located about 10 km north of Toruń in Piwnice. It is a village located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Toruń County, in the municipality of Lysomice. Currently, due to the large expansion of Toruń, it is practically becoming its suburb. For scientific reasons (to eliminate interference), a no-building zone was created within a radius of about 1 kilometer, although even in this circle there are few single-family buildings. South of Piwnice at a distance of about 1.5 kilometers is the Piwnicki Forest nature reserve with an area of over 37 hectares. The Astronomical Observatory was founded in 1948, through the efforts of Prof. Wladyslaw Dziewulski and Prof. Wilhelmina Ivanowska, research staff at the University of Torun. In the 1950s and 1960s, in the historic park surrounding the mansion, numerous buildings were constructed to hide optical telescopes, housed in domes with retractable roofs. In the 1990s, the Observatory underwent a major expansion with units (radio telescopes) for radio astronomy research. It was the largest astronomy and radio astronomy research program in Central Europe. The Astronomical Observatory of the Nicolaus Copernicus University is located in a historic manor house from the late 19th century. Its facilities include. * Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a diameter of 90 cm, * Cassegrain telescope with a diameter of 60 cm. The observatory also has two modern radio telescopes: * the smaller one with a diameter of 15 m was put into operation in 1979, * the larger one with a diameter of 32 m in 1994 (it is the largest radio telescope in Central Europe). Both radio telescopes are part of the global VLBI system and work in the international network of space observations. The observatory can be visited. The employees of the Astronomical Observatory of Nicolaus Copernicus University are prominent astronomers: * Professor Aleksander Wolszczan (born 1946) - Polish astronomer, discoverer of the first planets outside the Solar System, professor at the Nicolaus Copernicus University, distinguished Torun of the 20th century. In 1991, with the help of a radio telescope in Arecibo (Puerto Rico), he discovered 3 planets outside the Solar System. In 1992, he received the Foundation for Polish Science Award for the discovery of the first extrasolar planetary system. Honored by many scientific institutions and specialized journals, including: the journal Nature as the author of one of the 15 fundamental discoveries in physics made public by the publication. He is also a professor at Pennsylvania State University. * Professor Wladyslaw Dziewulski (1878-1962) - Polish astronomer, professor at USB in Vilnius, co-founder of UMK and the Astronomical Observatory in Piwnice * Professor Wilhelmina Ivanowska (1905-1999) - Polish astronomer and radio astronomer, professor at UMK * Professor Andrzej Woszczyk - astronomer, professor at the Nicolaus Copernicus University, president of the Scientific Society in Torun Since 2003, the Torun Astronomical Observatory has been carrying out a unique in the world project of searching the sky at 30 GHz as part of the European Union FARADAY program.
Michal - 12.08.2008
