Antonín Mrkos

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Antonín Mrkos IPA: [ˈantoɲi:n ˈmr̩kos] (January 27, 1918–May 29, 1996) was a Czech astronomer, born in Střemchoví.


[edit] Biography

Mrkos entered the University in Brno in 1938. His studies were interrupted by the onset of World War II, and in 1945 he became a staff member at the Skalnaté Pleso Observatory in Slovakia. It was from here that he carried out his extremely active cometary programme and became the discoverer of several unusual comets, the most famous of them the bright Comet 1957d.

He was the only second Czech in Antarctica and first Czechslovak who reached Southern pole of inaccessibility as a member of 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition (1957-1959). The Czechoslovakian flag was there the second flag raised after the flag of USSR. He returned back to Antarctic as a head of 4 member Czechoslovakian crew in 7th (1961-1963) Soviet Antarctic Expedition. He was studying auroras among other things. He was invited to his third expedition to the Antarctic but couldn't participate because of almost fatal accident. It's thought someone tried to injure or to kill him by adding a bottle of strongly concentrated detergent among his other bottles of mineral water. Since this accident he could only eat liquid meals for the rest of his life.

Since 1966 - 1991 he was a director of Kleť observatory. Beginning in 1968 he made photographic observations at Klet and extended this activity to minor planets in 1977. For many years he was the most regular contributor of data to the Minor Planet Center. He was President of Commission 6 during 1985-1988 (also Vicepresident during 1982-1985).

Discovered or co-discovered 13 comets. Among them were the periodic comets 18D/Perrine-Mrkos, 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, 124P/Mrkos and 143P/Kowal-Mrkos. Also discovered the bright non-periodic comet C/1957 P1 (or, in the nomenclature of the time, Comet 1957d).

Discovered a number of asteroids (273 in total), including the Amor asteroid 5797 Bivoj and the Trojan asteroid 3451 Mentor. 1832 Mrkos is named in his honour. He also named asteroid 2747 Český Krumlov after the historic town of the same name. An another Main-belt asteroid 3357 Tolstikov (1984 FT) was named in Yevgeny Tolstikov honour.


Associate professor at Charles University and University of South Bohemia.