The Perek’s 2-metre telescope in Ondřejov is the largest optical instrument for stellar and exoplanetary research in the Czech Republic. The telescope is equipped with single order and echelle spectrographs, and a CCD photometric camera.
The telescope has been in operation since 1967, when it was commissioned on the occasion of the XIII General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
The most significant and fundamental upgrade of the telescope was performed in 2019. The optical configuration was completely changed, the smaller mirrors in original optical system were removed and the optical fibers from the primary focus of the main mirror to the coudé rooms with spectrographs were installed. With this upgrade, a higher efficiency and extension of the observational limits were achieved. The possibility of observing fainter objects broaden the number of observing programs which can be performed with the Perek 2‑m telescope.
This modernization opens new horizons and offers Czech astronomers a device that will stand up on an international scale.
The last reconstruction of the Perek telescope is described by Miroslav Šlechta in the article Modernization of the 2m Perk telescope in Ondřejov (in Czech), which was published in the Astropis magazine (volume: 2020, issue: 3, pp.: 12–15).
Usage of the telescope
The telescope is regularly used for scientific observations. Most observations are performed by scientists from the Stellar physics department of the Astronomical Institute, however, colleagues from other institutes and universities also use this telescope (Charles University Prague; Masaryk University Brno; University of Wrocław, Poland; Astronomical Institute SAS in Tatranská Lomnica, Slovakia). The telescope is also used in international spectroscopic campaigns and colaborations.
The 2-m telescope with its equipment also serves as an educational instrument for students from two major Czech universities (Faculty of mathematics and physics, Charles University in Prague and Faculty of Science, Masaryk University in Brno), and also for students from abroad by means of various international collaboration programs.