The commemorative plaque to Zdeněk Kvíz (1932-1993) on the building of the Třebíč observatory, is a reminder that this important astronomer was born in Třebíč, but also that Kvíz founded the observatory in 1957. Kvíz became especially famous for his research on variable stars and meteoric phenomena.

After graduating from high school in his hometown Třebíč, Zdeněk Kvíz studied astronomy and physics at the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University in Brno. Already at this time he worked at the Brno People's Observatory on Kraví hora hill, where he studied variable stars and meteors and was one of the founders of the meteor section of this observatory. After his studies, Kvíz worked at the Astronomical Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Ondřejov and taught physics at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He was one of the first organizers of meteor expeditions in Czechoslovakia and in 1958 he wrote a popular scientific book entitled How Astronomers Explore the Universe. In 1969, Kvíz went on a study program to the University of Sydney, Australia, and was involved in research on the atmospheric effects of meteor showers. Zdeněk Kvíz did not return to Czechoslovakia from this study program and decided to live in exile. After that, he worked on observation of occultation binaries at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia and the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile. Zdeněk Kvíz died in 1993 in Sydney.

Not only was one of the asteroids (8137) named after Kvíz, but since 1994 the “Zdeněk Kvíz Award” has been awarded in honour of this important astronomer by the Executive Committee of the Czech Astronomical Society. This biennial award recognises scientific activity in the fields in which Kvíz worked, i.e. variable stars, interplanetary matter and the popularisation and teaching of astronomy.

The commemorative plaque to Zdeněk Kvíz was unveiled on 6 October 2007 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the observatory in Třebíč and was placed on the building. The plaque also depicts Kvíz`s asteroid 8137. The astronomer and astrophysicist Jiří Grygar gave a lecture on the occasion of the unveiling of the plaque.

Keywords: astronomy; physics; interplanetary matter, variable stars, occultation binaries, meteor showers, popularization of astronomy

Commemorative Plaque to Zdeněk Kvíz in Třebíč