About us

About the Meteor Physics Group

The Meteor Physics Group focuses on the observation and physical interpretation of meteors. Together with the Asteroid Group, they form the Interplanetary Matter Department, this department is part of the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Scientific Staff


	RNDr. Jiří Borovička, CSc. Head of the Interplanetary Matter Department Graduated in astronomy at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague in 1987. Joined the Meteor Physics Group in 1989, defended a dissertation on Meteor Spectrum Analysis in 1993. Specializes in meteor observation processing, trajectory calculations, light curves, atmospheric fragmentation modeling, meteor spectroscopy, and meteor trail analysis. Contributed to characterizing major fireballs and meteorite falls, including the Chelyabinsk fireball. Author of software packages for evaluating European Fireball Network data. http://www.astronom.cz/borovicka/


	RNDr. Pavel Koten, Ph.D. Head of the Meteor Physics Group Studied astronomy at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague. Researches faint meteors using video techniques, light curves, atmospheric and heliocentric trajectories, meteor shower activity, pairs, and clusters of meteors. Organizes meteor observations and develops data processing methods.


	RNDr. Pavel Spurný, CSc. After graduating from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University in Prague in 1982, he has continuously worked in the Meteor Physics Group of the Department of Interplanetary Matter, serving as the head of the department for over 25 years. Throughout his career, he has been involved in instrumental research of bright meteors and bolides. Since 1993, he has been the head of the European Fireball Network, significantly contributing to its modernization, automation, expansion, and continuous operation. His main scientific focus is the comprehensive analysis of bolide data recorded by this network, with particular attention to exceptional cases, such as bolides associated with meteor showers or those linked to meteorite falls. After reaching retirement age in 2022, he was appointed an emeritus research scientist of the Czech Academy of Sciences and continues to work on the same topics as before. http://meteor.asu.cas.cz/cz/~spurny/

RNDr. Pavel Spurný, CSc.
After graduating from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University in Prague in 1982, he has continuously worked in the Meteor Physics Group of the Department of Interplanetary Matter, serving as the head of the department for over 25 years. Throughout his career, he has been involved in instrumental research of bright meteors and bolides. Since 1993, he has been the head of the European Fireball Network, significantly contributing to its modernization, automation, expansion, and continuous operation. His main scientific focus is the comprehensive analysis of bolide data recorded by this network, with particular attention to exceptional cases, such as bolides associated with meteor showers or those linked to meteorite falls. After reaching retirement age in 2022, he was appointed an emeritus research scientist of the Czech Academy of Sciences and continues to work on the same topics as before.
http://meteor.asu.cas.cz/cz/~spurny/


	Mgr. Lukáš Shrbený, Ph.D. He studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague (Ph.D. in 2009). Since 2005, he has been a member of the Meteor Physics Group, defending his dissertation on Meteor Shower Bolides in 2009. He specializes in studying fireballs captured photographically and via video cameras (modeling fragmentation, light curves, calculating atmospheric and heliocentric trajectories), processing meteor shower fireballs, organizing meteorite searches in the Czech Republic, and expanding the Czech part of the European Fireball Network by introducing two types of video observations of bolides: IP cameras with wide fields of view and movable digital cameras with narrow fields of view capable of tracking meteor movement. https://www.asu.cas.cz/~shrbeny/

Mgr. Lukáš Shrbený, Ph.D.
He studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague (Ph.D. in 2009). Since 2005, he has been a member of the Meteor Physics Group, defending his dissertation on Meteor Shower Bolides in 2009. He specializes in studying fireballs captured photographically and via video cameras (modeling fragmentation, light curves, calculating atmospheric and heliocentric trajectories), processing meteor shower fireballs, organizing meteorite searches in the Czech Republic, and expanding the Czech part of the European Fireball Network by introducing two types of video observations of bolides: IP cameras with wide fields of view and movable digital cameras with narrow fields of view capable of tracking meteor movement.
https://www.asu.cas.cz/~shrbeny/


	RNDr. David Čapek, Ph.D. He studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University (Ph.D. in 2007) and geology at the Faculty of Science, Charles University (Mgr. in 2007). Previously, his research encompassed topics related to heat transfer and rotation: the Yarkovsky and YORP effects, thermal stresses in meteoroids, sodium loss in Geminids, ablation of iron meteoroids in the atmosphere, and cometary meteoroid rotation. Recently, his focus has been on meteoroid clusters, determining their ages and origins, modeling 3D shapes of meteoroids, and identifying potential meteorite samples for the public. https://www.asu.cas.cz/~capek/

RNDr. David Čapek, Ph.D.
He studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University (Ph.D. in 2007) and geology at the Faculty of Science, Charles University (Mgr. in 2007). Previously, his research encompassed topics related to heat transfer and rotation: the Yarkovsky and YORP effects, thermal stresses in meteoroids, sodium loss in Geminids, ablation of iron meteoroids in the atmosphere, and cometary meteoroid rotation. Recently, his focus has been on meteoroid clusters, determining their ages and origins, modeling 3D shapes of meteoroids, and identifying potential meteorite samples for the public.
https://www.asu.cas.cz/~capek/


	Mgr. Tomáš Henych, Ph.D. He studied astrophysics at the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University in Brno (Ph.D. in 2013), completing postdoctoral studies at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. He has been a member of the Meteor Physics Group since 2020. His main interests include modeling meteoroid fragmentation in the atmosphere, genetic algorithms, and computation parallelization. Previously, he researched asteroid collisions, precessing asteroids, and the collisional evolution of the main asteroid belt. https://www.asu.cas.cz/~henych/


	Mgr. Vlastimil Vojáček, Ph.D. He studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague (Ph.D. in 2017), completing postdoctoral studies at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on meteor spectra and modeling the fragmentation of weak meteoroids in the atmosphere, bridging these two areas in meteor research. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vlastimil-Vojacek

Mgr. Vlastimil Vojáček, Ph.D.
He studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague (Ph.D. in 2017), completing postdoctoral studies at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on meteor spectra and modeling the fragmentation of weak meteoroids in the atmosphere, bridging these two areas in meteor research.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vlastimil-Vojacek


	Mgr. Rostislav Štork, Ph.D. He studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, completing his doctoral studies there. He has been at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences since 1994, focusing on observing weak meteors using video techniques. From 2000–2008, he served as the institute’s webmaster. Since 2016, he has been involved in coordinating the work of the Fireball Network stations. In recent years, he has also been involved in research of fireballs captured by IP cameras. https://www.asu.cas.cz/~stork/

Mgr. Rostislav Štork, Ph.D.
He studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, completing his doctoral studies there. He has been at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences since 1994, focusing on observing weak meteors using video techniques. From 2000–2008, he served as the institute’s webmaster. Since 2016, he has been involved in coordinating the work of the Fireball Network stations. In recent years, he has also been involved in research of fireballs captured by IP cameras.
https://www.asu.cas.cz/~stork/


	Svitlana Kolomiyets, Ph.D. She studied astronomy and physics at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (V. N. Karazin KNU). After that, her scientific career became closely connected with the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics (NURE), where she prepared her PhD thesis on the analysis of highly eccentric meteor orbits. Her scientific interests include analyzing the parameters of meteoroids and their orbits, as well as comparing radar and optical meteor observation methods. Since 2023, she has been a member of the Meteor Physics Group.

Svitlana Kolomiyets, Ph.D.
She studied astronomy and physics at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (V. N. Karazin KNU). After that, her scientific career became closely connected with the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics (NURE), where she prepared her PhD thesis on the analysis of highly eccentric meteor orbits. Her scientific interests include analyzing the parameters of meteoroids and their orbits, as well as comparing radar and optical meteor observation methods. Since 2023, she has been a member of the Meteor Physics Group.

Postdoctoral Researchers


	Mgr. Adriana Pisarčíková, Ph.D. She studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and completed her PhD in 2024. After that, she continued her research of the spectral characterization of meteoroids at her home university. Since January 2025, she has been conducting postdoctoral research under MERIT fellowship programme at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Her main research focuses on meteor spectra analysis and improving the methods of meteor spectroscopy using laboratory simulated meteors to determine meteoroid composition and distribution within the solar system. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Adriana-Pisarcikova

Mgr. Adriana Pisarčíková, Ph.D.
She studied astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and completed her PhD in 2024. After that, she continued her research of the spectral characterization of meteoroids at her home university. Since January 2025, she has been conducting postdoctoral research under MERIT fellowship programme at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Her main research focuses on meteor spectra analysis and improving the methods of meteor spectroscopy using laboratory simulated meteors to determine meteoroid composition and distribution within the solar system.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Adriana-Pisarcikova


	Gabriel Borderes Motta, Ph.D. He holds a PhD in Physics from São Paulo State University, where he specialized in orbital dynamics with a focus on the behavior of objects around irregular bodies. His first postdoctoral position was at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, working on the FET Open project E.T.Pack. From 2022 to 2024, he contributed to the study of space debris tracking and meteoroid evolution as a postdoctoral researcher at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics. His research expertise centers on orbital dynamics, utilizing N-body simulations and advanced techniques such as Poincaré Surface Sections to explore complex dynamical systems. Since 2025, he has been a member of the Meteor Physics Group. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4680-8414

Gabriel Borderes Motta, Ph.D.
He holds a PhD in Physics from São Paulo State University, where he specialized in orbital dynamics with a focus on the behavior of objects around irregular bodies. His first postdoctoral position was at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, working on the FET Open project E.T.Pack. From 2022 to 2024, he contributed to the study of space debris tracking and meteoroid evolution as a postdoctoral researcher at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics. His research expertise centers on orbital dynamics, utilizing N-body simulations and advanced techniques such as Poincaré Surface Sections to explore complex dynamical systems. Since 2025, he has been a member of the Meteor Physics Group.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4680-8414

Inerplanetary Matter Department Secretary


	Hana Zichová She is an administrative and technical worker for the Meteor Physics group. She communicates with the public, for example in cases of inquiries about fireball reports and possible meteorite finds, and measures images of the bolide network.

Technical Staff

Other staff members are responsible for the technical management of fireball cameras, software development, data reduction and backup, and measurement of images and videos obtained by the fireball network.

Jan Fuchs
Ing. Lenka Kopřivová
Bc. Lenka Kotková
Ivana Macourková
Jan Mánek
Pavlína Váchová

Meteor physics group Ondřejov

About the Meteor Physics Group

Scientific Staff

Postdoctoral Researchers

Inerplanetary Matter Department Secretary

Technical Staff

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