Antonín Rükl is an astronomer

Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

, cartographer, and author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 from the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

.

He was born in Čáslav

Cáslav

Čáslav is a town in eastern part of Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic.- History :History of Čáslav begins after year 800 with founding of citadel and settlement called Hrádek. Near Hrádek, new town with huge square was founded by king Přemysl Otakar II in 1250...

, Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

. As a student he developed what was to be a life-long interest in Astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

. He graduated from the Czech Technical University in 1956, then became a staff member of the astronomical department in the Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 Institute of Geodesy.

Beginning in 1960 he joined the Prague Planetarium

Planetarium

A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...

, eventually becoming deputy director and then head. He also became chairman of the Planetary Section of the Czechoslovak Astronomical Society and served as vice president of the International Planetarium Directors Conference from 1996 until 1999. He retired at the end of 1999.

During his career he was a popularizer of astronomy and authored many books on the subject. He is skilled in cartography

Cartography

Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...

 as well as selenography

Selenography

Selenography is the study of the surface and physical features of the Moon. Historically, the principal concern of selenographists was the mapping and naming of the lunar maria, craters, mountain ranges, and other various features...

, the skill of mapping the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

. He illustrates many of his own books, including the highly regarded Atlas of the Moon.

He is married to Sonja. They have a daughter Jane and son Mike.