Lenka Kotková

Lenka Kotková, born on July twenty-sixth, nineteen seventy-three, is a prominent Czech astronomer renowned for her significant contributions to the discovery of minor planets. She is affiliated with the Observatoř Ondřejov, situated near Prague, where she has dedicated her career to advancing astronomical research.

Throughout her career, Lenka has discovered numerous main-belt asteroids, including the notable Mars-crosser asteroid 9671 Hemera and the Hilda family asteroid 21804 Václavneumann. Her academic journey began with a focus on meteorology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University in Prague, which laid the groundwork for her future endeavors in astronomy.

At the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Ondřejov, Lenka's responsibilities encompass the development of databases, as well as conducting spectroscopical and photometric observations. During her tenure in the department of interplanetary matter, she played a crucial role in observing near-Earth asteroids and, alongside colleagues Petr Pravec and Peter Kušnirák, contributed to the identification of a significant number of known binary asteroids.

Lenka's remarkable achievements include the discovery or co-discovery of over one hundred asteroids. Currently, she serves in the stellar department as an observant utilizing the two-meter Ondřejov telescope. In recognition of her outstanding work in the research of variable stars, she was honored with the Zdeněk Kvíz Award from the Czech Astronomical Society in the year two thousand.

Her legacy is further immortalized in the naming of asteroids after her; the asteroid 10390 Lenka, discovered by her colleagues in nineteen ninety-seven, honors her contributions, while the asteroid 60001 Adélka, discovered in nineteen ninety-nine, is named after her daughter. Additionally, the asteroid 7897 Bohuška, discovered in nineteen ninety-five, pays tribute to her mother.