Hi! 

I am Nikola Antonov - an astronomy enthusiast, blogger, and astrophotographer born in Sofia in 1976. An avid stargazer since early childhood. IT by profession, with a background in the humanities. Member of the "Institute for Advanced Physical Studies" based in Sofia, Bulgaria. I'm mainly interested in variable stars and exoplanets.

I work in IT and teach Byzantine music. I have been a lover of astronomy since I was a child. Back then we didn't have today's opportunities to buy telescopes and equipment to take pictures of planets and galaxies from the country house's yard or the city's terrace. We imagined what it would be like more than we saw through the telescopes available, which were in most cases completely useless but gave us the feeling that we were participating in something great. Armed with an AstroCabinet and a paper sky chart, I spent nights searching for the wondrous objects, distant nebulae and galaxies, binary stars, and star clusters I read about in books. 

That time has passed, my life has flowed a certain way, as it does for everyone, and today I am once again pursuing my childhood passion. I usually practice my hobby from the backyard of my wife's family house in Meshhtitsa, Pernik region. Besides getting beautiful images I also like to take pictures to collect scientific data. For this purpose, I am a member of an association dedicated to observing variable stars, novae, supernovae, quasars, and other transient events and astronomical objects. The images are used to apply photometry.

Currently, I am studying in the Master's Program "Astronomy and Astronomy Popularization" at the Faculty of Physics, Sofia University. 

Memberships:

• Institute for Advanced Physical Studies

• Bulgarian Astronomical Society

• American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)

• Amateur Astronomers Club "Stellar Society", Bulgaria