František Nušl, Vice-President of the IAU 1928-1935, and inventor of the circumzenithal telescope

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11320%2F19%3A10408855" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11320/19:10408855 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921319000310" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743921319000310</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1743921319000310" target="_blank" >10.1017/S1743921319000310</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

František Nušl, Vice-President of the IAU 1928-1935, and inventor of the circumzenithal telescope

Original language description

The Czech astronomer František Nušl (1867-1951) was professor of mathematics, practical astronomy and geometrical optics at Prague Charles University. His scientific contribution to astronomy consisted mainly of inventing and constructing of new astronomical and geodetical instruments. Together with his friend Josef Jan Fri, founder of the OndTMejov Observatory, he developed and improved the circumzenithal telescope (1899-1903-1906-1922-1932), a portable instrument with a mercury horizon for determining the geodetic position using the Gauss method of equal altitudes. This instrument won the gold medal at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris in 1937. Nušl, independently of Ernst Öpik, invented the wobbling mirror for determining the velocity of meteors by visual observation, and constructed an unique guiding system for the Ondrejov astrograph etc. The organizational activities of Frantisek Nušl were considerably rich, too: He was one of the founders of the Czech Astronomical Society in 1917, in the years 1922-1948 he served as its president. From 1918 until his retirement in 1937 he was the director of the Ondrejov Observatory, 40 km south of capital city of Prague, lectured astronomy at the Prague university and held many popular lectures including regular courses in radio broadcasting. František Nušl was member of several commisions of international scientific unions; he organized the 3 rd General Assembly of IUGG (International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics) in Prague 1927, and in IAU (International Astronomical Union) he was elected as Vice-President in the years 1928-1935. One can conclude that he was the main person who formed the Czech astronomy in the interwar period. (C) International Astronomical Union 2019.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

D - Article in proceedings

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60101 - History (history of science and technology to be 6.3, history of specific sciences to be under the respective headings)

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA19-20678S" target="_blank" >GA19-20678S: The first post-war generation of Czech astronomers, astrophysicists and mathematicians. Interdisciplinary research of the history of science networks.</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2019

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Article name in the collection

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union

ISBN

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ISSN

1743-9213

e-ISSN

1743-9221

Number of pages

6

Pages from-to

197-202

Publisher name

Cambridge University Press

Place of publication

UK

Event location

Vienna, Austria

Event date

Aug 28, 2018

Type of event by nationality

WRD - Celosvětová akce

UT code for WoS article

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