Panská Ves observatory

Panská Ves observatory is a scientific field station near Dubá in the Czech Republic, about 60 kilometres north of Prague, built to receive data beamed down from orbiting satellites.

About Panská Ves observatory

Rather than a stargazing telescope site, Panská Ves is a satellite receiving and geophysical monitoring station operated by the Department of Ionosphere and Aeronomy at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Large satellite antennas stand across an open meadow, alongside instruments for ground-based atmospheric and ionospheric measurements.

History

The station was built in 1962, and satellite reception began there in 1967 as part of the Interkosmos programme. A seismic station, PVCC, was added in 2003, expanding its role in monitoring the Earth as well as the space above it.

Telescopes & research

Panská Ves has received data from the European Space Agency's Cluster satellites since 2007 and from NASA's Van Allen Probes (RBSP) mission since 2013, contributing to research on the ionosphere and near-Earth space environment.

Location & getting there

The site sits near Dubá in northern Bohemia, roughly 60 km north of Prague, in a rural stretch of the Czech Republic.

Visiting Panská Ves observatory

As a specialist research facility, Panská Ves doesn't publish general visitor hours. Check with the Institute of Atmospheric Physics for current access information before visiting.

See your named star from here

Panská Ves listens to satellites rather than starlight, but the Bohemian countryside around it offers genuinely dark night skies. Name a star to mark this part of the Czech Republic, then find it in our star catalogue or explore other locations on our observatories page.