Research

How ZnO films help see invisible radiation

Abstract

Scientists from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, led by Zdeněk Hubička and Jiří Olejníček, have succeeded in developing an improved method for preparing thin films of zinc oxide (ZnO) that respond to vacuum ultraviolet radiation much faster than previously known films produced by other methods.

New "Christmas" comet discovered by a Czech, named C/2024 Y1 (Mašek).

Abstract

Update 1. 1. 2025 A new comet was spotted on the night of 24–25 December 2024 by scientist Martin Mašek from the Institute of Physics over the western horizon in Argentina. He operated the telescope online from Liberec (city in the Czech Republic). This is the first Czech discovery of a comet where the observer was not physically present in the observatory, and the first Czech discovery from the southern hemisphere. The comet will not appear above our horizon until late February or early March.