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Kraków-Węglówka, April 3-6, 2025
3rd April 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the single-apparition comet C/1925 G1 (Orkisz), which has been officially recognized as the first comet discovered by a Polish citizen. It was spotted on the sky by a Cracovian astronomer, Lucjan Orkisz – at the time an employee of the Jagiellonian University.
He originated from a university-oriented family. During his studies at the end of 1920, he started working at the Jagiellonian University's Astronomical Observatory, which was then located in the Śniadecki Collegium in Kopernika Street. His superiors over there must have been satisfied with his work, as just four years later he was entrusted with the duties of head of the mountain observatory station on Łysina (904 m above sea level) near Myślenice, newly established by Professor Tadeusz Banachiewicz. We can also guess that he had been sent there to demonstrate his skills as a young scientist under difficult conditions. In the provisional mountain observatory located in the Lubomirski family forester's lodge, there was no electricity or radio, it was cold and lonely, and one had to go to the well for water.
However, the exceptionally clear night sky over Łysina, untouched by artificial lights or smog, enabled professional astronomical observations. It is worth mentioning that such observations were no longer possible from centre of the intensively expanding city of Cracow at the beginning of 20th century. This was, in fact, the reason why the astronomers from Cracow acquired the grounds at the top of the mountain and built the small observatory there. And few years later at this observatory station on Łysina Lucjan Orkisz had his findings that made him (and the Polish nation) famous. On the morning of 2 April 1925 he spotted a faint nebula in the Pegasus constellation. After trying to find its position the next day, he realized he had discovered a new, previously unknown object.
It later appeared to be a comet whose motion and orbit Orkisz subsequently studied for years, eventually making it the basis of his doctoral dissertation, entitled Die definitive Bahn des Kometen 1925 I (Orkisz) and defended in 1931. The comet was given the designation C/1925 G1 (Orkisz). ‘C’ in the name refers to the type of comet; it is non-periodic, i.e. one that has appeared near the Sun only once and is unlikely to return to its vicinity again.
Why was this a world-class astronomical achievement? To start, it is worth pointing out that comets had been observed and discovered on Polish lands before. However, such discoveries were not officially documented. Orkisz's comet was the first to be formally listed by the International Astronomical Union as discovered by a Polish astronomer - moreover in Poland, which became independent only a few years earlier. The importance of this discovery is evidenced by the congratulatory letters received from observatories and the fact that shortly afterwards a popular science film entitled The Discovery of Orkisz's Comet was made to promote the scientific work of the Cracovian astronomer. Additionally, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, observations of comets were considered of great importance. Discoveries of new objects of this type raised the prestige of every astronomer and observatory.
The mentioned 1925 documentary is the work of the famous “chronicler of Cracow”, Szczęsny Mysłowicz, later founder of the Polish Film Institute Lumen (1927-1939). It is an educational film and, like other videos of that time, a silent one. It begins with a presentation of old photographs of the Observatory in Kopernika Street and then of the ‘“provisional observation station’” on Łysina, where ‘“the clear mountain air allows observations even with the help of smaller telescopes”’. We can see a wooden shed with the roof open and a Merz telescope inside, and then the process of discovering Orkisz's comet, reconstructed for the recording: an astronomer at work scanning the sky with a telescope. After a while, the comet appears in the field of view. Later, we also see information about its orbit and the path it has taken in space.
The observatory station on Łysina, also called “Przygoleź” by the locals (today, the mountain is called Lubomir in honour of Duke Kazimierz Lubomirski, the founder of the land on which the station was built) enjoyed a reputation of an important observatory in the 1930s. Its successive heads were astronomers from Cracow, including - what was not at all obvious for those times - two women: Rozalia Szafraniec and Maria Makowiecka. In 1936, another interesting discovery was made on Lubomir. This time, the comet was spotted in the night sky by Władysław Lis, a technical employee of the station, on his way to work, but he shared his discovery with two other observers: Stefan Kozik, astronomer of Polish origin working in Tashkent, and Japanese Sigeru Kaho.
In 1944, the observation station was burnt down by German troops during the pacification of a nearby village. This was probably due to the fact that the station was then equipped with a radio station – also to be used by partisans. No one was killed, but the observatory was destroyed. The library and observation logs from 20 years as well as property of Władysław Lis, who lived there with his family, were also burned. However, he later managed to find among the ruins the medal he received for the discovery of ‘his’ comet C/1936 O1 (Kaho-Kozik-Lis). It is now displayed in the lobby of the modern Tadeusz Banachiewicz Astronomical Observatory in Lubomir, which was rebuilt after sixty years on the site of the former station, following the efforts of the mayor of Wiśniowa village, Julian Murzyn.
It is worth mentioning that while the comet discovered by Lis turned out to be a quite classical long-period comet with a circulation period of 888 years, the nature of Orkisz's comet has long been uncertain. However, all indications are that it is a comet with a hyperbolic orbit. There have even been hypotheses that it originated outside the Solar System, i.e. that it is a so-called extrasolar comet.
In recognition of the merits of the observatory, the symbols of the two comets discovered at Lubomir were permanently included in the village Wiśniowa coat of arms. In 2003 the Committee of Reconstruction of Astronomical Observatory on Lubomir was established. The chairman of the committee was Julian Murzyn, and the chairman of the programme team was Professor Jerzy Kreiner, PhD, at that time director of the Institute of Physics at the Pedagogical University in Cracow. On 17 July 2006 - 70th anniversary of the discovery of the comet by Władysław Lis - the foundation stone was laid. A year later a decision was made to name the Observatory after Tadeusz Banachiewicz. The opening of the facility took place on 6 October 2007.
The modern observatory on Lubomir is the only Polish mountain observatory regularly open (for a fee) to the public. From March to November, it can be visited on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 16:00 (full-time admission) or 10:00 to 15:00 (October and November). There are also public night sky shows on selected evenings. All astronomers currently welcoming visitors to Lubomir are employees or graduates of the Jagiellonian University.
Further information: https://weglowka.pl/obserwatorium/
Scientific and historical symposium to mark the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the first Polish comet C/1925 G1 (Orkisz). The meeting will be held at the Astronomical Observatory of the Jagiellonian University and Collegium Sniadeckiego in Kraków and the Tadeusz Banachiewicz Astronomical Observatory in Węglówka.
For more information, visit the event page (in Polish).
To register, please send an e-mail by March 30, 2025.
kometaorkisza@oa.uj.edu.pl
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If you would like to give a talk, please send us the topic.
Artur Wójcik (Sigillum Authenticum) #85: Lucjan Orkisz opowiada, jak odkrył pierwszą polską kometę! (YouTube)
