Petr Horálek (born July 21, 1986) is a Czech

astrophotographer Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object (the Moon) was taken in 1840, but it was no ...

, popularizer of astronomy and an artist.

Astronomy and Astrophotography

Early life

He worked as a

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

of the Pardubice observatory in 1999–2010 and studied

Theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

and Astrophysics at the

Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) ( cs, Masarykova univerzita; la, Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the se ...

in Brno (2007–2011). During this period, in 2011, he started with

astrophotography Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object (the Moon) was taken in 1840, but it was no ...

Astrophotography

Petr specializes in photographing "rare night-sky phenomena" and TWAN style photographs with the night sky over known foreground. His images capture unique moments and views in the sky to show the importance of the fight against the global

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day ...

problem.

Unique image from Aitutaki Island

However, those distant places were over his financial capacities due to medium

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

of his native country so in 2014, he bought Working holiday visa and travelled to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Working on fruit orchards for 4 months, he was able to earn enough money for his only goal: to travel to the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

and to capture (probably) historically the first

nightscape Night photography (also called nighttime photography) refers to the activity of capturing images outdoors at night, between dusk and dawn. Night photographers generally have a choice between using artificial lighting and using a long exposur ...

photograph with the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

over the popular Aitutaki Island.

ESO Photo Ambassador

In January 2015, Petr Horálek became the 22nd Photo Ambassador of the European Southern Observatory. He focuses mostly on Ultra-hd

fulldome Fulldome refers to immersive dome-based video display environments. The dome, horizontal or tilted, is filled with real-time (interactive) or pre-rendered (linear) computer animations, live capture images, or composited environments. Although t ...

and panoramatic images of the night sky over ESO

observatories An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

, which can be freely used in digital planetariums. With this work, he participates on the program of ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre.

Scientific impact

Several of his images had

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

impact. Here are some examples: * Record of a unique bright Perseid fireball on August 12, 2012, analyzed by P. Spurný at al. and published in Astronomy & Astrophysics magazine * Data of the

hybrid solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

of 2013 in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

were post-processed by a mathematician and a computer-scientist, prof. Miloslav Druckmüller * Sophisticated imaging and post-processing of the

zodiacal light The zodiacal light (also called false dawn when seen before sunrise) is a faint glow of diffuse sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust. Brighter around the Sun, it appears in a particularly dark night sky to extend from the Sun's direction ...

over the ESO

La Silla Observatory La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is ...

in April 2016 revealed structures in the zodiacal band, image was published in the

ESO Messenger The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 member states for ground-based ast ...

164 (June 2016) as well as the ESO Picture of the Week

Awards

Images of Petr Horálek were chosen several times as

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is a website provided by NASA and Michigan Technological University (MTU). According to the website, "Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation writt ...

ESO The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 member states for ground-based ast ...

Picture of the Week and Czech Astrophotography of the Month. In October 2015 the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

named the asteroid (6822) 1986 UO after him (see Asteroid 6822 Horálek).

Asteroid 6822 Horálek

Asteroid 6822 Horálek or (6822) 1986 UO was discovered by Zdeňka Vavrová on October 28, 1986, at

Kleť Observatory Kleť Observatory ( cz, Hvězdárna Kleť; obs. code: 046) is an astronomical observatory in the Czech Republic. It is situated in South Bohemia, south of the summit of Mount Kleť, near the town of České Budějovice. Constructed in 1957, t ...

, the Czech Republic. It is about 5 km wide asteroid orbiting the Sun in the

Main asteroid belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies, of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, called ...

with

perihelion An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any elli ...

at 1.943 AU and

aphelion An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ell ...

3.235 AU from the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

MPC Citation for 6822 Horálek

Petr Horálek (b. 1986) is a Czech astronomer, astronomy popularizer, passionate photographer, and one of the ESO Photo Ambassadors. He travels the globe to observe solar and lunar eclipses. His breathtaking photographs capture the beauty of the night sky and its harmony with the landscape. ef: ''Minor Planet Circ.'' 95803/blockquote>

Art
Petr Horálek is also an artist. He focuses on sketches, especially female
portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...
s and emotional sketches

References

External links

Petr Horálek's images in ESO archive

Petr Horálek's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horalek, Petr Space photography and videography 1986 births Czech photographers Living people