Korado Korlevic
Encyclopedia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
. He is a prolific discoverer of asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
s (1197 as of January 2007, ranging from 7364 Otonkučera
7364 Otonkucera
7364 Otonkučera is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 1245.1756362 days .The asteroid was discovered on May 22, 1996.-External links:...
to , and has also discovered two comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
s: 183P/Korlević-Jurić and
203P/Korlević.
Career
Korlević became active in astronomy during his college years in PulaPula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
, where he became active within a local amateur astronomical society. He spent the next few years honing his art, by making telescopes and teaching others, including teaching posts at the Amateur Astronomical Society of Višnjan. In 1981 Korlević was qualified with a B.Sc. from the pedagogical faculty of Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
. Towards the end of the 1980s, after some time teaching at polytechnic schools, he co-founded the Yugoslav School of Astronomy, later known as the Višnjan School of Astronomy.
Within this organisation he was able to study meteors and asteroids more seriously, and played a central role in the forming of the International Meteor Organisation as the organization formed. Korlević participated in the first International Tunguska Expedition. Motivated by new lines of research raise by this expedition, Korlević set about replacing the Višnjan Observatory
Višnjan Observatory
Višnjan Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near the village of Višnjan in Croatia. It is headed by Korado Korlević.The observatory is credited by the Minor Planet Center with 1750 asteroid discoveries....
's telescope, which had been badly damaged during the Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n occupation of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Bosnia. In particular, the telescope was sent to Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
to help the defenders during the Siege of Sarajevo
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Serb forces of the Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army besieged Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 during the Bosnian War.After Bosnia...
. In 1995 this new telescope produced the first astrometric line, and soon Korlević and his colleagues had discovered previously undiscovered asteroids, a big breakthrough for Croatian astronomy.
The Višnjan team have built a new observatory some 3 km away in Tican to continue their work on Near Earth Objects (NEO).
They hope to have it operational before the end of 2009 but funds are tight. On the Tican site they have also built the world's largest Schumann Antenna. They'll use this to prove that meteors penetrating the ionosphere have a significant effect on Schumann resonances.
Korlević the Educator
Korado Korlević was the editor of Nebeske krijesnice, an astronomy newsletter, and an often-quoted expert for astronomical articles on the topic of small bodies and impact. The teaching of astronomy, and passing his enthusiasm for it onto younger generations, is still a central priority for Korlević, and he spends much time teaching.Affiliations
Korlević is a member of the following organisations:- International Meteor OrganizationInternational Meteor OrganizationThe International Meteor Organization was founded in 1988 and has several hundred members. IMO was created in response to an ever-growing need for international cooperation on amateur meteor work...
- The Planetary Society
- Spaceguard Foundation
- Astronomical Society of the PacificAstronomical Society of the PacificThe Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
- European Council for High Ability (ECHA)
- National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic SocietyThe National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
- Croatian entomological society
- Lions International
Awards and honours
- Poreč city prize "San Mauro" — "for educational achievements"
- Asteroid 1020110201 Korado10201 Korado is a main-belt asteroid. It is named after Croatian astronomer Korado Korlević, who discovered it on July 12, 1997 at Farra d'Isonzo observatory in Italy....
was named "Korado" — "for his educational, astronomical and social contribution" - Edgar Wilson Award 1999 — "for comet discovery"
- Edgar Wilson Award 2000 — "for comet discovery"
- Ivan Filipović Award 2002 — Croatian Ministry of Education
External links
- Korado Korlević at the Višnjan ObservatoryVišnjan ObservatoryVišnjan Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near the village of Višnjan in Croatia. It is headed by Korado Korlević.The observatory is credited by the Minor Planet Center with 1750 asteroid discoveries....
official website