Photometric Capabilities and Scientific Applications of the Meshtitsa Private Observatory

Volume 54 number 1 (2026)

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Nikola Antonov

Institute for Advanced Physical Studies, 111 Tsarigradsko Shose Boulevard, Sofia, Bulgaria, and Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Sofia University, 5 James Bourchier Boulevard, Sofia, Bulgaria; nikola.antonov@iaps.institute

Abstract

This paper presents the Meshtitsa Observatory—a small-aperture technical platform for high-precision photometric astronomical observations. Located near Pernik, Bulgaria, it is a privately operated roll-off-roof facility equipped with a 0.25-m telescope, CMOS camera, and photometric filters. All operations are remotely managed using a Debian-based INDIGO server infrastructure. The observatory has successfully captured light curves of cataclysmic stars, stellar flares, and transit events of hot Jupiter-type exoplanets with sufficient photometric precision for scientific analysis. These results demonstrate the viability of small-aperture observatories.