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Mercury, Sep/Oct 1995 Table of Contents

by Vladis Vujnovic, University of Zagreb

(c) 1995 Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Over the past several years, things have come together for Croatian astronomers, thanks largely to better communications with the rest of the world. On the down side, researchers are strapped for cash and, at one point, had to rescue their telescope from a war zone.

In much of Europe, astronomy goes back hundreds of years. Croatia's tradition is shorter. Although Dubrovnik-born Rugjer Boskovic was a central figure in Newtonian physics during the 18th century, the first astronomical observatory was not founded in Zagreb until 1903. For several decades it was headed by science writer Oton Kuchera, famous for his book, Our Sky, by which astronomy grabbed many of our souls.

After World War II, Zagreb's university expanded, the scientific disciplines diversified, and popular science flourished. A popular astronomy journal, Man and Universe, started 40 years ago and continues to this day. A Zeiss planetarium opened in Zagreb in 1965 and became a frequent destination for pupils from across the country. A dozen amateur societies are spread all over the country and celebrate the Day of Astronomy each Dec. 3. Some societies have their own domes, such as the Observatory Visnjan in Istria, which organizes courses for the advanced amateur and is on its way to becoming a de facto professional observatory.

As much as we would wish to, we cannot say that the astronomy is a regular subject in the school -- better to say that it was never completely excluded. On the other hand, for 30 years an enthusiastic group of teachers has supported and conducted out- of-class activities. School astronomical groups have taken part in competitions, observed astronomical objects, analyzed the results, and developed instruments. This kind of activity was stimulated and directed by a movement called "Science for Youth," supported by the local astronomical societies. Fifteen summer schools for the young astronomers were organized, mainly at the seaside. It is partly due to this persistent, broadly anchored activity that astronomy last year entered school curriculums as an optional subject.

At the university, there is a small community of professional astronomers. Most belong to a narrow generation interval -- around 40 years old -- and have physics backgrounds. The Faculty of Geodesy supplements their efforts with research in positional astronomy. Astronomers use facilities situated at the Hvar Observatory, which opened in 1972 close to Split on the Adriatic coast. The instrument was dismantled from 1991 to 1992 because of the risk of damage during the war, but now all the instruments are again in place. Researchers investigate two main topics, solar physics and variable stars, with occasional excursions to other topics such as asteroids. Hvar has a double solar telescope and Cassegrain photometer, with a 65-centimeter mirror and effective focal length of 7.5 meters (see picture). The observatory is on a hill 245 meters above sea level, immediately above a resort town. Other research relies on international collaboration, especially with the Academy of Sciences in Prague.

What is the present situation in astronomy? It can be surprising that in time of war, or neither-war-nor peace, when standards of living and the incomes of professional institutions suffer great blows, intellectual activity can undergo a renaissance. Human nature compensates for distress. In Croatia, there could be also a more rational explanation: Fax and electronic mail expanded rapidly from the declaration of independence in 1990. The professional astronomical society entered the International Astronomical Union, our students and research workers started to study and work abroad, and foreign experts began to visit us.

Over the past three years, the position of astronomy within the Faculty of Science has improved. Astrophysical courses are taught intensively in the graduate physics program, complementing special courses that have been taught on the postgraduate level for two decades. General astronomical courses are nowadays obligatory for teachers in physics, mathematics, and technical education in all four Croatian universities: Zagreb, Osijek, Rijeka, and Split.

Our financial support is sufficient for the normal life of a citizen -- income, daily expenses within the institutions, repairs of old apparatus -- but there is no money for new instruments and new people. We look to participate in international endeavors, projects, and teams.

Fifty thousand of our school pupils are exiles from parts of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina; the total number of such people is nearly 400,000. They too share the privileges of the education system, including astronomy classes, amateur activities, and competitions. They are normally included in the schools as everybody else.

VLADIS VUJNOVIC is a researcher in atomic spectroscopy at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. He has written monographs in atomic physics and popular-level astronomy. He got interested in astronomy as a child when he asked his parents why people can't live on the Sun. He soon went on to model the constellations with marbles of different size and colors on the living-room carpet. His email address is vvujnovic@olimp.irb.hr. The University of Zagreb is on the World Wide Web at gopher://gopher.ifs.hr.

Illustration caption

The 65-centimeter Cassegrain telescope of Hvar Observatory. The dome is located on an island just off the Dalmatian Coast, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Split and 110 kilometers (70 miles) east of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Photo courtesy of Vladis Vujnovic.