Summer student placements at the Observatory of the Institute of Astronomy, University of Wrocław, in Białków (Academic year 2025/2026)

Location: The Astronomical Observatory of the University of Wrocław in Białków near Wińsko, Wińsko municipality, Wołów district (approx. 70 km from Wrocław). Address: Białków 9, 56-160 Wińsko.

Duration of the placement: 120 lecture hours (lh)

The summer placement programme is divided into two sessions, each lasting 15 days (15*8 lh = 120 lh). Students are required to pass only one of them.

Note! Whether a particular session runs depends on whether the minimum number of students have registered for it (4). If there are not enough students, the work placement programme may be reorganised (cancellation of one of the sessions, automatic transfer of students). Due to accommodation constraints, we are only able to accommodate a maximum of 8 people at any one time.

SESSION I  : 29 VI — 13 VII 2026,
SESSION II : 14 VII — 28 VII 2026.

Note! Students are obliged to arrive in Białków on the first day of their session before 12:00 PM (i.e. on 29 VI or 14 VII) and leave the observatory by 12:00 PM on the day following the final day of the session (i.e. 14 or 28 VII).

Note! Classes take place on a continuous basis, i.e. including Saturdays and Sundays.

Placement programme

Students taking part in the placement as part of a given session will be split in two groups and carry out two programme blocks, 60 lh each, in astrophysics and heliophysics. Transition from the helio- to astrophysics section and vice versa will take place after 7 days.

Astrophysics block (60 lh):

Astrophysicists in Wrocław focus mainly on variable stars, which they study using methods known as asteroseismology. This technique, which is developing at an ever-increasing pace and allows us to ‘peek’ inside stars, may soon help us gain a much better understanding of the physics behind the evolution of certain stars, particularly massive ones. Specialists in this field will conduct selected classes from the list below.

• Planning and conducting astrophysical observations.
• Research programmes carried out at the IA UWr.
• CCD camera observations, in particular of open and globular clusters.
• Calibration of CCD images (CCD camera, bias, dark current, sensitivity distribution).
• An introduction to stellar photometry.
• Photometric reduction of CCD images (direct and indirect photometry, aperture and profile photometry): the DAOPhot package.
• Conversion of brightness to the standard system.
• The creation and interpretation of colour-magnitude and double-index star cluster diagrams.
• Searching for variable stars: Fourier analysis of light curves.
• Satellite photometry.
• Remote observations using telescopes in Chile/Arizona/the Canary Islands.
• Age-related changes in the periods of RR Lyrae and Cepheid stars of Population II.
• An introduction to IRAF.
• Calibration and reduction of archived spectroscopic observations of selected stars.
• Determination of the radial velocities of the stars under study using the cross-correlation method.
• Lectures and practice on the structure and evolution of stars.
• An introduction to modelling stellar evolution using the MESA programme.
• An introduction to astroseismology.
• Poland’s participation in the SALT project (lecture) and draughting of an application for observation time (workshop).
• Astrophotography (fieldwork) and determining atmospheric refraction (workshop).

Heliophysics block (60 lh):

The Institute of Astronomy at the University of Wrocław is Poland’s largest centre specialising in solar physics. Experts in this field will conduct selected classes from the list below.

• Basic observational instruments – construction, operating principles, operation and observer safety.
• An Introduction to Solar Physics — the nearest star and active phenomena on the Sun.
• Simple routine heliophysical observations using a horizontal telescope, and filtrograms of prominences and solar flares.
• Filtrogram observations of solar prominences and active regions carried out using the Large Coronagraph.
• Observations of active phenomena (protuberance eruptions, solar flares) using the MSDP imaging spectrograph.
• Participation in ongoing observational programmes.
• Methods for analysing heliophysical observations – processing of self-conducted observations.
• Determination of key parameters of the coronal plasma from X-ray observations – a study using satellite data.
• A lecture on satellite observations of X-ray sources using coded apertures.
• Exercises on the reconstruction of X-ray images of the Crab Nebula and solar flares, photometry, and the analysis of changes in the positions of sources as a function of time and energy.
• Analysis of X-ray spectra using the OSPEX software package – with and without spatial resolution, using RHESSI and FERMI observations as examples.
• A lecture on observations of the Sun in the EUV and SXR bands.
• An interdisciplinary lecture on the impact of the Sun’s evolution on the Earth.
• Workshop: analysis of data from the AIA instrument on the SDO satellite – determination of the geometric and kinematic parameters of active phenomena observed in the EUV range.

How to get there

The Observatory is located in a small village of Białków, near the road connecting Żmigród and Wińsko.

Coordinates: 51^o 28′ 34.6″ N, 16^o 39′ 22.2″ E .

Access by public transport (bus only) is difficult. We don’t know schedules, perhaps currently there is no direct connection from Wrocław to Wińsko and a round trip, e.g. to Lubin, from where there is a bus to Wińsko, is necessary. After arriving in Wińsko you will need to walk about 4 km to Białków. Please check buses to Wińsko a few days in advance, e.g. on e-podroznik.pl

The best way to get there is by car. There is a car park on site.

If you have any difficulties with travel or any questions regarding accommodation or social services, please contact the following directly:

   e-mail: grzegorz.kopacki@uwr.edu.pl (session I)

   e-mail: krzysztof.radziszewski@uwr.edu.pl (session II)

New road – S5

If travelling by car, head to Żmigród, which is situated on the Wrocław–Poznań route (S5). At the junction, take Road 339 towards Żmigród. After a few hundred metres, you’ll see a sign indicating a left turn towards Wińsko. It’s about an 18-kilometre drive. We advise you to drive carefully on this stretch of road. There are some rather surprising bends in a few places. In the village of Stryjno, look out for the sign indicating a right turn: Białków 2 (please don’t be misled by the way this road is labelled, for example on Google Maps; it’s new and fully tarmacked; it’s best to check opentopmap.org).

If travelling by public transport, you should get off at Wińsko and then walk about 4 km to Białków.

Accommodation conditions

We provide free accommodation at the Observatory. The conditions on site are very good. The villa, which comprises guest rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, has been thoroughly refurbished. At students’ disposal are two rooms; there are two bunk beds in each, which means that 4 people will be accommodated in one room. We provide duvets, pillows and blankets. It’s necessary to take your own bedsheets or a sleeping bag. The accommodation features a well-equipped kitchen with a fridge, microwave, ceramic hob and oven, however there is npo, więc wszystkie posiłki trzeba przygotować we własnym zakresie. Nie ma też pralki. Dobrze zaopatrzone sklepy znajdują się w Wińsku, nieco bliżej jest mały wiejski sklep w Stryjnie.

W budynkach Obserwatorium istnieje dostęp do bezprzewodowego internetu, drukarki i komputera. Można przywieźć ze sobą laptopy. Szybkość łącza internetowego nie jest jednak wysoka, więc funkcjonalność połączenia jest ograniczona.

 W razie problemów z dojazdem proszę dzwonić do Obserwatorium, 71 389-80-24, ewentualnie do godz. 15:00 do sekretariatu Instytutu Astronomicznego we Wrocławiu, 71 337-80-60