Job:	Post-doc, Armagh Observatory
Born:	in a troubled country

When and where were you born?

I was born in the year of big student demonstrations across Europe and US. That (un)lucky event happened in the city at following coordinates: +45.48 15.58E. The city is not now in the same country as it was when I was born so don't ask about the country of birth.

When did you get interested in astronomy?

I started to be interested in astronomy at age of seven! I was successful in some competitions in astronomy, maths and physics.

Where did you study?

I graduated in astrophysics at Belgrade University.

Where are you now?

I am working at Armagh Observatory, a beautiful place, but another very troubled country - Northern Ireland.

Here is a picture of the comet Hale-Bopp over the Observatory at Armagh. It's pretty impressive, isn't it? The Armagh Observatory was founded in 1790 by Archbishop Richard Robinson, a very wealthy person. Prof. E.J. Opik, one of the most outstanding astrophysicists of his generation, came to Armagh Observatory in 1948 as a refugee from Eastern Europe, Estonia. His most important contribution to science was his study of the evolution of stars. In his pioneering paper, he showed how, when eventually all the hydrogen in the centre of the Sun has been converted into helium by nuclear fusion, the core would contract and the outer atmosphere would expand. In the case of the Sun, it would expand out to the orbit of the planet Venus. By this time, the oceans on the Earth would boil and the Earth would be a scorched, dead planet. Don't worry though, this won't happen for another 5,000 million years.

By then the human race will have destroyed itself.