 Large Telescope Dome of the Rozhen Observatory | |||||||||
| Alternative names | Bulgarian National Rozhen Observatory | ||||||||
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| Organization | Bulgarian Academy of Sciences | ||||||||
| Observatory code | 071 | ||||||||
| Location | NearChepelare,Bulgaria | ||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°41′36″N24°44′20″E / 41.6932°N 24.7389°E /41.6932; 24.7389 | ||||||||
| Altitude | 1759 m | ||||||||
| Website | NAO-Rozhen | ||||||||
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  Location of Rozhen Observatory | |||||||||
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 Related media on Commons | |||||||||
Rozhen Observatory (Bulgarian:Национална астрономическа обсерватория - Рожен,НАО-Рожен; English:National Astronomical Observatory - Rozhen,NAO-Rozhen), also known as theBulgarian National Astronomical Observatory, is anastronomical observatory, located in the Smolyan Province, 90 kilometers south of the city ofPlovdiv,Bulgaria. The nearest town,Chepelare, is 15 kilometers away. The observatory is owned and operated by theInstitute of Astronomy of theBulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). It was officially opened on 13 March 1981, almost 20 years after Bogomil Kovachev – a professor of astronomy at BAS, known as its founder – had started working towards that goal.[1][2] The Observatory is one of the largest in Southeastern Europe and has an active team of about 50 astronomers. It is the principal center for astronomical research in Bulgaria.[citation needed] The minor planet6267 Rozhen, was discovered at, and named after the observatory.[3]
With its total cost of over $10 million at the time, it still remains to day the largest one-time investment in scientific infrastructure that Bulgaria ever made.[4]
Transit Timing Variation (TTV), a variation on the transit method, was used to discover an exoplanetWASP-3c by Rozhen Observatory,Jena Observatory, andToruń Centre for Astronomy.[6]
