In 2004, on the eve of Zdeněk Kopal`s 90th birthday, which he didn`t live to celebrate, a monument designed by Federico Díaz and Marian Karel was unveiled in Havlíčkova Street in Litomyšl. The shape and design of the monument goes beyond the usual buildings of this type, because it refers primarily to the scientific topic that the astronomer Kopal was involved in and to his greatest scientific achievements. The main sculpture is made of two spheres of black carbon fibre, which symbolises binary stars – Kopal`s main scientific theme. The stars are fixed in a groove symbolically tracing the original ground plan of Kopal`s birth house that doesn`t exist anymore and below the stars are Zdeněk Kopal`s basic biographical data. The memorial includes an illuminated info board placed on the wall of the neighbouring house, which provides brief information about Kopal`s scientific career.
Zdeněk Kopal patří mezi naše nejvýznamnější astronomy a proslavil se velkou měrou i za hranicemi. Kromě jeho prací spojených s výzkumem dvojhvězd je Kopalovo jméno známépředevším v souvislosti s jeho významným podílem při plánování přistání na Měsíci. Zdeněk Kopal is one of our most renowned astronomers and is well-known even abroad. In addition to his work related to the research on binary stars, Kopal`s name is primarily connected with his significant contribution to the planning of the moon landing. He worked at NASA, on the Apollo programme to map the Moon, and contributed greatly to the successful landing on its surface.
ŠOLCOVÁ, A., KŘÍŽEK, M.: Numerický matematik a astronom Zdeněk Kopal. Pokroky matematiky, fyziky a astronomie, 49/2004, č. 3, str. 244─257
KOPAL, Z. Můj život. Litomyšl 2014
