HESS PRIZE

2021

Pandemic remote meeting

Lenka Tomankova

Dr. Lenka Tomankova was awarded the HESS prize for her contribution to enabling moon light and twilight observations with the H.E.S.S. telescopes. Lenka coordinated the moonlight task group that was established in 2019. Her work included the definition of moon parameter phase space suited for H.E.S.S. observations, sensitivity studies and unification of the gains during dark and weak-to-moderate moon light observations as well as the study of the NSB and triggering behaviour for these observations. All these – together with a strong support team – contributed to the implementation of moonlight observations resulting in an increase in the amount of data obtained with the H.E.S.S. telescopes. This is particularly advantageous for time-domain science which takes up an increasing fraction of the H.E.S.S. observing program. We are looking forward to a significant increase in observing time resulting from the work of Lenka and her team in 2021.