Luboš Perek

Who is Luboš Perek?

Luboš Perek is a Czech astronomer, born in 1919.

He is most renowned for his Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae with Luboš Kohoutek in 1967. He also worked or works on the distribution of mass in the galaxy, high-velocity stars, planetary nebulae, definition of outer space, geostationary orbit, space debris, management of outer space.

He graduated from Masaryk University, Brno, in 1946, earned his PhD in Astronomy Charles University, Prague, in 1956, and a DSc in Astronomy in 1961.

Corresponding Member of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1965.

Associate Professor, Masaryk University from 1952 to 1956.

Visiting Professor, Northwestern University 1964.

General Secretary of the International Astronomical Union 1967-1970.

Director of the Astronomical Institute of Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences 1968-1975.

Chief, Outer Space Affairs Division, United Nations, New York 1975-1980.

Medals: University of Liège 1969, ADION 1972, T. Hagecius de Hajek 1980, Nagy Ernö 1981, Zagreb Univ. 1982, City of Paris 1982, Collège de France 1986, Prix Jules Janssen of the Societé Astronomique de France 1992.

The asteroid 2900 Luboš Perek, discovered by Kohoutek, was named after him.

He published 44 papers on stellar dynamics and planetary nebulae and 80 papers and articles on the geostationary orbit, definition of outer space, space debris, protection of space environment.