Astronomical Center of Shumen University

At Shumen University in northeastern Bulgaria, the Astronomical Center runs two research-grade telescopes that quietly contribute to international variable-star and photometry programmes.

About the Astronomical Center of Shumen University

The Astronomical Center is part of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Shumen University "Bishop Konstantin Preslavski," one of Bulgaria's centres for practical, research-based astronomy outside the capital. It works closely with the Institute of Astronomy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Department of Astronomy at Sofia University.

History

The center was founded in 1999, giving Shumen University its own dedicated astronomical research facility.

Telescopes & research

The center operates a 60cm Ritchey-Chrétien telescope capable of remote-controlled observations, suitable for photometry of stars down to about 17th magnitude with precision better than 0.02 magnitude on short exposures. A second, 25cm telescope, also remotely operable, is used mainly for observations of variable stars and bright extended objects.

Location & getting there

The observatory is based in the city of Shumen in northeastern Bulgaria, on the campus of Shumen University.

Visiting the Astronomical Center of Shumen University

As a university research facility, the center is primarily used by students and staff rather than run as a public tourist attraction. Anyone interested in a visit or in the center's public events should check the university's astronomy website before travelling.

See your named star from here

The Shumen telescopes' remote-controlled observing is a reminder of how precisely a set of sky coordinates can be aimed at - exactly the kind of right ascension and declination that comes with every star named through our register. Name a star, or explore our star catalogue.