Report and Images By Eric H. Strach.
The Visit of Members from | 
Members of VAS & LAS at Pex Hill Observatory. |
Report and Images By Eric H. Strach.
The Visit of Members from |
Members of VAS & LAS at Pex Hill Observatory. |
I was told that the Vlasim Astronomical Society (VAS) originated from a
circle of workers in the nearby armament factory in 1953. Five years later
building started and in 1961 the observatory was inaugurated. Under the
leadership of Jan Zajic, the veteran of the VAS, it gained recognition at
home and abroad, particularly in the realm of solar physics and
radio-astronomy.
I paid a second visit in 1992 and on that occasion Jan also arranged a tour
of the prime professional observatory in Cecho-slovakia in Ondrejov. There
we were shown round by Pavel Kotrc. I noticed that Jan was preoccupied on
this occasion and only later did I get to know that he was battling with
various authorities about the ownership of the observatory. Then disaster
struck in 1992: The ground was leased to a private timber merchant and the
observatory was closed. The ground was badly damaged and part of the
buildings suffered from neglect and structurtal damage. For some reason I lost contact with Jan. Later I learned that Jan had been
involved in protrated negociations but after 4 years he managed to persuade
the town of Vlasim to buy the observatory and lease it to the VAS for a
peppercorn rent. After the winter of 1996/97 intensive reconstruction work was started. It
was done almost entirely by the members and finally the rebirth of the
observatory was celebrated. Out of the blue, a letter came from Jan, full of enthusiasm about the new
achievement, and explaining his 4-years' silence.
We were most worried about those coming by car. But then a phone call came
on Tuesday afternoon - they were already in Stonehenge!. They intended to
do some more sight-seeing before arriving in Liverpool on Wednesday in the
late afternoon. They stayed overnight in Canterbury and on their way to
Liverpool they were lucky to find a functioning filling station. They
filled the tank and a reserve tank around Birmingham so they had enough
petrol for the return journey to France.
They were in contact by mobile
phones with Jan Urban and Jaromir Branis and learned that the bus from
Prague has been greatly delayed as a result of the petrol dispute in
Belgium. Instead of arriving in London on Wednesday at noon, they reached
London at 9 p.m. and missed the connection to Liverpool. They managed to
get on the night bus to Liverpool and arrived here at 6 a.m. on Thursday. In
spite of it all, they were in good spirits, especially after a shower which
rejuvenated them. After all, they had been on the journey for 40 hours!.
We fed them and showed them our programme and without hesitation they
insisted on taking part to the full. All six met outside the Anglican
Cathedral with their respective hosts (Gerard, Murad and David F.). So, at
long last, all six visitors had arrived after an eventful journey. They
were:-
Jan Urban , also known as 'Honza' , the President of the VAS. A very lively
fellow, full of fun and typical Czech humour. He is deeply involved in
Ecology, as well as in astronomy. He took the visit seriously, made notes
for his diary and intends to write up the experience of the first visit of
the VAS to Liverpool
Petr Pivonka is a bright young man, his special interest seems to be optics.
He works for a well known Mobile Phone Firm whose name was widely displayed
on the car with which they came.
Helena Neprasova, Petr's partner, a medical student at Prague University.
She took many photgraphs and spoke quite good English.
Milan Kovalsky, a tall athletic man, he is skilled in plaster work. He
describes himself not so much as an Astronomer but as a Gastronomer in
the VAS where he is in charge of catering! He is very much a family man,
Margaret had to help him choose home-coming presents.
Jaromir Branis, known as 'Mir', is a pleasant man. He describes himself as a labourer. When once interviewed with other members by the Czech TV, he said that he digs holes. They would not believe him until he showed them that he dug out some soil for the erection of an instrument. He has two dogs, one of them is a member of the VAS!
Pavel Kotrc, not a member of the VAS but a friend and professional
astronomer from the Ondrejov observatory. An extremely pleasant and knowledgeable but modest man devoted
to his solar work as well to his family.
All were very impressed by the Anglecan Cathedral one of the largest in the world.
They went up the tower and the view of Liverpool was stunning; in spite of
the overcast sky. When one of the attendants learned that they were Czech,
he presented them with leaflets printed in Czech.
The Metropolitan Cathedral was a surprise to them due to the modern
architecture and lay out. They were impressed by the serenity and dignity of
the place and the colourful light shinong through the windows.
We offered them lunch, consisting of Fish and Chips at Harry Ramsden's and
they seemed to have enjoyed this typically English dish.
According to the programme, we should have spent the afternoon in Jodrell
Bank as arranged by Chris Banks. However, Chris got a last minute message
that the visitors' centre had to be closed: due to the petrol crisis as
only three visitors came on the previous day, and the staff already had
difficulty travelling .
Instead of this, the afternoon was spent at Pex Hill and after looking round
we settled in the lecture room and Pavel showed us excellent photographs
made by a collegue in Ondrejov.
A Group photo at the Liverpool A.S. Observatory Pex Hill.
From LtoR: Jaromir Branis VAS, Milan Kovalsky VAS, Vlasim AS President Jan Urban, Murad Ghorbal LAS, Petr Pivonka VAS, Helena Neprosova VAS, Dr Pavel Kotrc - Ondrejov Observatory, David Forshaw LAS, and LAS President Gerard Gilligan.
© September 2000 Eric Strach
In the evening we went to a local restaurant and had a very pleasant
convivial get-together and the opportunity to get to know each other and to
forge friendships.
Friday started with a visit to the Liverpool Telescope Factory, arranged by
Alan Scott. We drove through the Wallasey Tunnel to the Twelve Quays and
assembled outside the Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI) of the John
Moore University. Alan took us to the nearby Telescope Factory and
introduced our guests to Chris Moss who took us round, To the astonishment
of all, the great hall contained three giant robotic telescopes in various
stages of construction. The mirrors are of 2m diameter, the glass coming
from Russia, the figuring done by Zeiss. The Liverpool Telescope, designed and built by Telescope Technologies Ltd, has
reached the finishing stage and will be the largest robotic telescope in the
world. It will be operational in La Palma. The second will be placed in
Hawaii and will have mainly educational functions. The third has been
ordered by India. Dr Chris Moss was overwhelmed with questions by our
visitors and proved to be an excellent and very knowledgeable guide.
(At Right): The Indian 2 meter telescope nears completion at TTL.
© Eric Strach
A further informal session was at the ARI. Short talks were given by Dr
Iain Steele, Scientist of the New Generation Astronomical Telescopes Project
(NGAT), by Alan Scott, (Starlink Computer Manager) and Dr Andrew Newsam
(Research and Education Fellow). There followed many questions and
everybody was so interested that we almost forgot that it was past
lunchtime. Fortunately, Alan advised us to go across the bridge to 'The Old
Colonial' Pub. It was quite a novel experience for our visitors but the beef
stew and chips were excellent and the surroundings evocative of marine life.
The Replica Lassell 24" Telescope.
© MAS Oct 1996.
In the afternoon we went to the Liverpool Conservation Centre and saw the
reconstructed Lassell Telescope. This generated a great deal of interest and
Gerard was able to enlarge on the History of the Telescope and on the life
of Lassell. After a little shopping in town, all were taken to their respective homes in
readiness for the evening session.
The Presidential Address and Cheese and Wine Reception was held in the crypt
of the Metropolitan Cathedral. In spite of the petrol shortage, there was a good attendance. Gerard
Gilligan, our President, officially welcomed our guests and presented Jan
Urban with a framed colour LAS Logo with the words:
Jan, in turn, produced a bottle of pear liqueur, all home
made, even the pears had been picked by the members in Vlasim. But the main
present was a hand-made plaque representing Moses carrying the Tablets of
the Ten Commandments as well as the Staff which Jan described as a
telescope. The inscription reads:
I then introduced the individual Czech guests and translated Jan's short address.
Gerard gave his presidential address, entitled the Gmunden Observatory, part
of his Austrian experience during this trip to see the total Eclipse. It was
illustrated with superb slides of the Alpine scene.
Pavel Kotrc followed on with an excellent account of the History of
Astronomy in the Czech Republic, illustrated with most excellent slides. It
generated great interest and many questions from the audience.
Dr Pavel Kotrc Addressing LAS members.
© Dr P.Kotrc 16th September 2000
The Cheese and Wine reception was greatly appreciated by all, the ample food
and drink was ably prepared by Tony and Jean Williams. Many LAS members
talked to the Czech guests and friendships, already developed on previous
days, were consolidated. I overheard or translated many conversations, most
of them about inviting LAS members to visit Vlasim as well as Ondrejov.
One comment came from Jan: he had seen many observatories but never a
telescope factory.
(At Right): Astronomical Friendships and Co-operation.
© VAS 16th September 2000.
Saturday morning was spent sight seeing. David Galvin led the visitors to
the Albert Dock and the Beatle Museum, to the City centre, including Mathew
Street. They had a relaxing Mersey River tour on a Ferry boat where they
ate the packed lunch provided by their hosts.
In the afternoon we assembled in the lecture room at Pex Hill, more
photographs were shown by Pavel who followed on with an informal lecture on
his solar work, prominences and flares. We marvelled not only at his
knowledge but also at his command of English.
There was a grand finale to the visit in form of a celebration dinner at
Chung Ku Chinese restauranrt at the riverside. The venue was excellent, as
was the food, the drink and, most of all, the company. There were only a
few short Good Bye speeches.
On Sunday morning the hosts brought their guests to our home, the Sun made
one of its rare appearances and most proceeded to our back garden and made a
fleeting solar observation before the general leave taking. Photos were
taken and five of our guests crammed into Petr's car with Helena in the
driving seat.
Jan stayed behind, he had an extra day as he planned to go to Glasgow on
Monday morning. He had a relaxing day in town, went to the Anglican
Cathedral with his sketchpad. He spent the rest of the day with Gerard, Carol and their
children. In the evening Gerard brought him to my home as Jan wanted me to
translate a great many questions, mainly about the organisation of our
Society, its activities, membership etc. He jotted everything down for
future reference.
Jan went to Glasgow on Monday morning to join other Czech Ecologists for a
further week. All our visitors returned safely without any problems.
Back toLiverpool Astronomical Society Home page.
Last updated on 16th July 2001.
