Author: dpv

The construction of the telescope hosting facility in Piconcillo, Andalusia, is entering its final phase. During February and March 2026, we plan to build the two scheduled pavilions so that, shortly after Easter, they will be ready to host the first clients’ telescopes.

­The planned outburst of the recurrent nova T CrB has still not occurred. There are, however, plenty of interesting phenomena in the sky and likewise many activities by the members of the common Section of Variable Stars and Exoplanets of the Slovak Astronomical Society at the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Slovak Astronomical Union (hereafter the Section). As usual, I will divide the report into a part dealing with events in the sky and a part summarizing the efforts of astronomers on Earth to understand what the signals from the Universe are telling us.

One of the main findings that the Z Cam campaign brought is that collecting enough data in Central Europe takes a great deal of time due to the small number of usable nights. A second point is that it is still unclear to what extent data taken in places with light pollution are usable. The response to these facts is to place telescopes in a better location. What follows is information about the steps recently taken in this direction.