astronomy

Luboš Kohoutek

Luboš Kohoutek is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Luboš Kohoutek rather than just read about it. In short: Luboš Kohoutek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkoɦou̯tɛk]; 29 January 1935 – 30 December 2023) was a Czech astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets, including Comet Kohoutek which was visible to the naked eye in 1973. He also discovered a large number of planetary nebulae.

Key takeaways

Luboš Kohoutek belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Luboš Kohoutek to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Luboš Kohoutek from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Luboš Kohoutek (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkoɦou̯tɛk]; 29 January 1935 – 30 December 2023) was a Czech astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets, including Comet Kohoutek which was visible to the naked eye in 1973. He also discovered a large number of planetary nebulae.

Biography Kohoutek was born on 29 January 1935 to Hynek and Jarmila Kohoutek. His brother was the Czech composer Ctirad Kohoutek. Kohoutek was interested in astronomy since high school. He studied physics and astronomy at universities in Brno and Prague (finished 1958). Then he started to work in the Astronomical Institute of Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, where he published a well-cited catalogue (Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae, 1967). Kohoutek obtained a long term position at the Bergedorf Observatory in Hamburg. After the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia (1968) he decided to stay in West Germany (1970). His discoveries in the 1970s made him well known in the media. In later years, Kohoutek worked in observatories in Spain and Chile, studying planetary nebulae. He officially retired in 2001, yet kept researching at the Hamburg-Bergedorf Observatory. Kohoutek published 162 scientific works.

Kohoutek is most famous for his discovery of numerous comets, including periodic comets 75D/Kohoutek and 76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura, as well as the famously disappointing "Comet Kohoutek" (C/1973 E1). Kohoutek also discovered numerous asteroids, including the Apollo asteroid 1865 Cerberus. The main-belt asteroid 1850 Kohoutek was named after him. Kohoutek died on 30 December 2023, at the age of 88.

Discoveries Kohoutek discovered supernova SN 1973F, 5 comets, and 76 minor planets.

List of discovered comets 75D/Kohoutek 76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura C/1973 E1 (Kohoutek) C/1969 O1-A (Kohoutek) C/1973 D1 (Kohoutek)

List of discovered minor planets

References

External links 2011 interview with Luboš Kohoutek

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Luboš Kohoutek

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Luboš Kohoutek claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Luboš Kohoutek before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Luboš Kohoutek ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Luboš Kohoutek

In research: Luboš Kohoutek appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Luboš Kohoutek in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Luboš Kohoutek is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1935 births, 2023 deaths, Academic staff of the University of Hamburg, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Luboš Kohoutek outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Luboš Kohoutek in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Luboš Kohoutek means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Luboš Kohoutek out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Luboš Kohoutek in simple terms?

Why does Luboš Kohoutek matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Luboš Kohoutek?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Luboš Kohoutek.