Juraj Tóth (born 28 March 1975) is a Slovak

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

, discoverer of

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

s, and professor of astronomy at

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

in Bratislava,

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. An expert in

meteoroid A meteoroid ( ) is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are distinguished as objects significantly smaller than ''asteroids'', ranging in size from grains to objects up to wide. Objects smaller than meteoroids are classifie ...

fragmentation, he is known for his observations of the 1998

Leonid meteor shower The Leonids ( ) are a prolific annual meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle, and are also known for their spectacular meteor storms that occur about every 33 years. The Leonids get their name from the location of their radia ...

from

Modra Observatory The Astronomical Observatory of Modra (), also known as Modra Observatory or the Astronomical and Geophysical observatory in Modra, is an astronomical observatory located in Modra, Slovakia. It is owned and operated by the Comenius University in B ...

, which were later published in the journal ''

Earth, Moon, and Planets ''Earth, Moon, and Planets'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published approximately ten times per year by Springer Science+Business Media. It was established in 1969 under the title ''The Moon'', was known as ''The Moon and the Planets'' fr ...

''. His photograph of the Leonid meteor shower was credited by

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

. Tóth is a member of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

and currently a professor at

in the department of astronomy. He is credited by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Funct ...

with the discovery and co-discovery of 16 numbered minor planets between 1998 and 2001. He has published in numerous journals on astronomy, mainly on meteoroids. His work, ''Orbital Evolution of Příbram and Neuschwanstein'', has been shown in the

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution, concentrating on Astrophysics, astrophysical studies including Galactic astronomy, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, cosmology, Sun, solar ...

. In 2010, he led a field expedition, which found the first piece of the "Košice"

meteorite fall A meteorite fall, also called an observed fall, is a meteorite collected after its fall from outer space, that was also observed by people or automated devices. Any other meteorite is called a "meteorite find, find". There are more than 1,300 d ...

. Košice is the 14th meteorite in the world with a pedigree. He is married and has three children. The main-belt asteroid 24976 Jurajtoth, discovered by

LONEOS Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search (LONEOS) was a project designed to discover asteroids and comets that orbit near the Earth. The project, funded by NASA, was directed by astronomer Ted Bowell of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz ...

in 1998, was named in his honor.

Publications

* Porubčan, V., Tóth, J., Yano, H.: ''On fragmentation of meteoroids in interplanetary space'', Contrib. Astron. Obs. Skalnaté Pleso, 32, 132 - 144. (2002) * Vereš, P.; Kornos, L.; Tóth, J.: ''Search for very close approaching NEAs'', Contrib. Astron. Obs. Skalnat´e Pleso 36, 171 – 180, (2006) * Vereš, P.; Klačka, J.; Kómar1, L.; Tóth, J.: ''Motion of a Meteoroid Released from an Asteroid '', Earth, Moon, and Planets v.102:1-4, p. 47-51. (June, 2008) * Tóth, J.; Kornos, L.; Porubčan, V.: ''Photographic Leonids 1998 Observed at Modra Observatory'', Earth, Moon, and Planets v.82-83:0, 285-294. * Kornoš, L.; Tóth, J.; Vereš, P.: ''Orbital Evolution of Příbram and Neuschwanstein'', Earth, Moon, and Planets, v.102:1-4, 59-65

References

External links

Juraj Tóth
at Comenius University
CV
, Juraj Tóth 1975 births Comenius University alumni Academic staff of Comenius University Discoverers of minor planets * Living people Slovak astronomers Scientists from Bratislava {{Europe-astronomer-stub