Astronomy

Astronomy

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

 in Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

is developed in accordance with the country's economic capabilities

Economy of Serbia

Serbia's economy is based mostly on various services , industry , and agriculture . In the late 1980s, at the beginning of the process of economic transition from a planned economy to a market economy, Serbia's economy had a favorable position, but it was gravely impacted by economic sanctions from...

, or even slightly above them. Astronomical Observatory Belgrade (on Zvezdara

Zvezdara

Zvezdara is a hill, forest, urban neighborhood and one of 17 municipalities which constitute City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.- Location :...

), founded in 1887, is one of the oldest scientific institutions in Serbia. Serbia is a member of the International Astronomical Union

International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...

 since 1935.

Astronomical Observatory Belgrade remains the only professional observatory in Serbia. The observatory has eight professional telescopes, and is currently completing a new station on the mountain Vidojevica

Vidojevica

Vidojevica is a mountain in central Serbia, near the town of Prokuplje. Its highest peak Bandera has an altitude of 1155 meters above sea level. On the top of the mountain, there is a new telescope station of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade....

 near Prokuplje

Prokuplje

Prokuplje is a town and municipality located in Serbia at 43.24° North, 21.59° East. According to 2011 census, the town has a total population of 27,163 inhabitants, while population of municipality is 43,631. It is the administrative center of the Toplica District of Serbia. It is one of the...

. There are also several smaller public and university observatories: the Public Observatory in Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, Novi Sad Astronomical Observatory and Belerofont Observatory in Kragujevac

Kragujevac

Kragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia, the main city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River...

. There are two planetariums: in Belgrade

Belgrade Planetarium

Belgrade Planetarium is one of two planetariums in Serbia. It is operated by the Astronomical Society Ruđer Bošković.- History :The planetarium's instrument, little Zeiss's planetarium ZKP-2...

 and Novi Sad.

Astronomy is taught in primary and secondary schools, but only as a part of other courses. Of great importance in teaching of astronomy is the Petnica Science Center

Petnica Science Center

Petnica Science Center is an independent and nonprofit organization for extracurricular, formal and informal, science education located near Valjevo, Serbia...

. Five universities in Serbia offer the studies of astronomy: universities of Belgrade

University of Belgrade

The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...

, Novi Sad

University of Novi Sad

The University of Novi Sad is a university located in Novi Sad, the capital of Serbian province of Vojvodina and the second largest city in Serbia....

, Kragujevac

University of Kragujevac

The University of Kragujevac is a university located in Kragujevac, Serbia. It was founded in 1976 and is organized in 11 Faculties.-History:...

, Niš

University of Niš

The University of Niš is a university located in Niš, Serbia. It was founded in 1965 and it consists of 13 faculties with 1500 teachers, 630 staff and extracurricular staff, and around 30,000 students...

 and Priština. From these, at the University of Belgrade have so far graduated 242 astronomers, and 6 astronomers at the Novi Sad; 4 more astronomers who have graduated abroad are working in Serbia.

Several journals devoted to astronomy are published: Astronomija, (discontinued since 2009), Vasiona and others. Also, since 1936, a scientific journal

Scientific journal

In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...

, Serbian Astronomical Journal is published.

In Serbia there are 17 associations of amateur astronomers, the oldest of which is Astronomical Society Ruđer Bošković

Astronomical Society Ruđer Bošković

Astronomical Society Ruđer Bošković is an astronomical society in Belgrade, Serbia. Founded in 1934 by a group of students, it is the oldest one in the Balkans. Initially having only several members, today it gathers more than 700 astronomy lovers. It is named after Ruđer Bošković.The main role of...

.