Researchers and management from the Institute of Physics Belgrade once again visited the Astronomical Camp ’Letenka’ this year. The camp, held from 11 – 14 July on Fruška Gora, took place at the traditional site of Letenka next to the eponymous provincial resort where a youth settlement was built half a century ago.
Accommodated in tents, astronomers had the opportunity to engage in numerous observations and participate in a particularly rich lecture programme. The Letenka Astronomical Camp has been bringing together astronomical enthusiasts and natural sciences devotees from the entire region of the Western Balkans and has gradually become one of the major events of amateur science in Serbia. The Camp is run by Aleksandar Zorkić and the people behind the renowned journal Astronomiski magazin.
This year’s camp saw a record number of visitors with more than 400 guests, while 301 stayed overnight and participated in night observations. The camp was successfully organized despite the challenges posed by extremely high temperatures and a lack of water. During the four-day event, several dozen lectures were held.
Similar to previous years, the Institute of Physics Belgrade was joined by its strategic partner, the Faculty of Science of the University of Novi Sad, in organizing the camp. As a national institute of the Republic of Serbia, the Institute supports this valuable initiative recognizing that programs like the Letenka Astronomical Camp play a crucial role in advancing scientific culture, broadening societal horizons, and fostering science youth.
The associates of the Institute once more took part in the lecture segment of the programme. The Director of the Institute Dr Aleksandar Bogojević delivered a lecture on the modern science challenges in which he reflected on the importance of fostering creativity, while Dr Tanja Berić, who is launching research in the sphere of astrobiology at the Institute, gave a talk on the ’theory of the evolution of everything.’
One of our distinguished astronomers-observers, Igor Smolić from the Institute, held a lecture on the C/2023 A3 comet which was discovered last year and is expected to be visible to the naked eye this September. Slobodan Bubnjević, Head of the Institute’s Department of Communication and author of the book The Alchemy of the Bomb, participated in the programme on nuclear reactors.
A range of speakers from various scientific institutions delivered lectures, from international guests, professors from the PMF in Novi Sad and several other faculties of the University of Belgrade and the University of Niš, to the President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Academician Zoran Knežević.
Photographs by: Astronomski magazin (A. Zorkić, N. Lovrić) and IPB – S. Bubnjević