Research Unit for Solar Activity Monitoring, Climate Change and Light Pollution

The Research Unit (RU) has been performing the following activities: i) Monitoring of solar activity both by using the resources of the Astronomical Observatory (e.g., a small refractor) and by analyzing the data available from various satellites.The obtained measurements are used to inform the public about the Sun's activity and accompanying phenomena.ii) Study of natural causes that may contribute to climate change.iii) Study of light pollution, one of the least understood forms of pollution on Earth using various observational instruments mounted at the Astronomical Observatory and Astronomical Station Vidojevica (ASV), operated by the Astronomical Observatory using standard astronomical techniques.These activities are performed within the three-year PRISMA project (started in January 2024) of the Urban Observatory of Belgrade, UrbObsBel (Urban Observatory of Belgrade) funded by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.Astronomical Observatory coordinates the research of light pollution in Belgrade and beyond.Researchers from the Institute of Physics, the Faculty of Science, University of Novi Sad, as well as the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade participate in these activities regarding the study of this problem, and all four scientific research organizations will be at the center of all future initiatives aimed to analyze and carry out activities to solve the problem of light pollution (such as, for example, the creation of dark-sky parks, the implementation of adaptive lighting systems, etc.).iv) In addition to the above-mentioned activities, the RU also deals with the monitoring of various effects in the Earth's atmosphere using instruments installed at the Astronomical Observatory.