Activities
The University Astronomical Observatory is one of the first observatories in the Balkans. In the early years, its primary activity was educational, with scientific observations being carried out only occasionally. In 1910, Prof. Bachevarov observed Halley’s Comet, while student A. Kunchev calculated the comet’s ephemerides. The young assistant Kiril Popoff published his observations of Halley’s Comet, made at the Observatory, in two articles posted in the Comptes Rendus of the French Academy of Sciences. Records have also been preserved of observations and recalculations of solar and lunar eclipse conditions made by Bachevarov, as well as occultations of stars by the Moon.
Today, the Observatory serves as a modern educational and research facility for the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs in Astronomy, equipped with advanced instrumentation including telescopes, CCD cameras, a spectrograph, and other state-of-the-art equipment.
