site_of_astronomical_discovery 2696 magion
The Astronomical Observatory of Modra , also known as ___MASK15___ or the Astronomical and Geophysical observatory in Modra , is an astronomical observatory located in Modra , Slovakia . It is owned and operated by the Comenius University in Bratislava . The scientific research at the observatory is led by the Department of Astronomy , Physics of the Earth and Meteorology , Faculty of Mathematics , Physics and Informatics . The Minor Planet Center ( MPC ) is the official worldwide organization in charge of collecting observational data for minor planets ( such as asteroids ) and comets , calculating their orbits and publishing this information via the " Minor Planet Circulars ". Under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union , it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory , which is part of the Center for Astrophysics along with the ___MASK86___ . 2696 Magion ( 1980 HB ) is a main - belt asteroid discovered on April 16 , 1980 by Ladislav Brožek at Kle . Photometric measurements of the asteroid made in 2007 at the ___MASK15___ in Slovakia showed a light curve with a period of roughly 480 ± 6 hours and a brightness variation of 0 . 31 in magnitude . ___MASK3___ is an astronomical observatory in the Czech Republic . It is situated in South Bohemia , south of the summit of Mount Kle , near the town of eské Budjovice . Constructed in 1957 , the observatory is at an altitude of and has around 150 clear nights per year . Ladislav Brožek ( born 1952 ) is a Slovak astronomer . At the Bohemian ___MASK3___ , he discovered a total of 23 minor planets between 1979 and 1982 , as credited by the Minor Planet Center .