The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and development through global cooperation. It was founded on 28 July 1919 in Brussels, Belgium, and is based in Paris, France.

The IAU is composed of individual members, who include both professional astronomers and junior scientists, and national members, such as professional associations, national societies, or academic institutions. Individual members are organised into divisions, committees, and working groups centered on particular subdisciplines, subjects, or initiatives. the Union had 85 national members and 12,734 individual members, spanning 90 countries and territories.

Among the key activities of the IAU is serving as a forum for scientific conferences. It sponsors nine annual symposia and holds a triannual General Assembly that sets policy and includes various scientific meetings. The Union is best known for being the leading authority in assigning official names and designations to astronomical objects, and for setting uniform definitions for astronomical principles. It also coordinates with national and international partners, such as UNESCO, to fulfill its mission.

The IAU is a member of the International Science Council, which is composed of international scholarly and scientific institutions and national academies of sciences.

Function

The International Astronomical Union is an international association of professional astronomers, at the PhD level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy.

This organisation has many working groups. For example, the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN), which maintains the astronomical naming conventions and planetary nomenclature for planetary bodies, and the Working Group on Star Names (WGSN), which catalogues and standardizes proper names for stars. The IAU is also responsible for the system of astronomical telegrams which are produced and distributed on its behalf by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. The Minor Planet Center also operates under the IAU, and is a "clearinghouse" for all non-planetary or non-moon bodies in the Solar System. Six past IAU Presidents in the period 1976–2003 also contributed their recollections in IAU Information Bulletin No. 104.

In 2015 and 2019, the Union held the NameExoWorlds contests.

Starting in 2024, the Union, in partnership with the United Nations, is poised to play a critical role in developing the legislation and framework for lunar industrialization.

Composition

thumb|center|550px|The IAU includes member organizations from 82 countries (designated as national members).

As of 1 August 2019, the IAU has a total of 13,701 individual members, who are professional astronomers from 102 countries worldwide; 81.7% of individual members are male, while 18.3% are female.

Membership also includes 82 national members, professional astronomical communities representing their country's affiliation with the IAU. National members include the Australian Academy of Science, the Chinese Astronomical Society, the French Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, the National Academies (United States), the National Research Foundation of South Africa, the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (Argentina), the Council of German Observatories, the Royal Astronomical Society (United Kingdom), the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Science Council of Japan, among many others. of the then President of the IAU, an Extraordinary IAU General Assembly was held in September 1973 in Warsaw, Poland, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus, soon after the regular 1973 GA had been held in Sydney.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align: left;"

! width=222 | Meeting

! width=50 | Year

! Venue

|-

|Ist IAU General Assembly (1st)

|align=center | 1922

|Rome, Italy

|-

|IInd IAU General Assembly (2nd)

|align=center | 1925

|Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

|-

|IIIrd IAU General Assembly (3rd)

|align=center | 1928

|Leiden, Netherlands

|-

|IVth IAU General Assembly (4th)

|align=center | 1932

|Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

|-

|Vth IAU General Assembly (5th)

|align=center | 1935

|Paris, France

|-

|VIth IAU General Assembly (6th)

|align=center | 1938

|Stockholm, Sweden

|-

|VIIth IAU General Assembly (7th)

|align=center | 1948

|Zürich, Switzerland

|-

|VIIIth IAU General Assembly (8th)

|align=center | 1952

|Rome, Italy

|-

|IXth IAU General Assembly (9th)

|align=center | 1955

|Dublin, Ireland

|-

|Xth IAU General Assembly (10th)

|align=center | 1958

|Moscow, Soviet Union

|-

|XIth IAU General Assembly (11th)

|align=center | 1961

|Berkeley, California, United States

|-

|XIIth IAU General Assembly (12th)

|align=center | 1964

|Hamburg, West Germany

|-

|XIIIth IAU General Assembly (13th)

|align=center | 1967

|Prague, Czechoslovakia

|-

|XIVth IAU General Assembly (14th)

|align=center | 1970

|Brighton, England, United Kingdom

|-

|XVth IAU General Assembly (15th)

|align=center | 1973

|Sydney, Australia

|-

|XVIth IAU General Assembly (16th)

|align=center | 1976

|Grenoble, France

|-

|XVIIth IAU General Assembly (17th)

|align=center | 1979

|Montreal, Quebec, Canada

|-

|XVIIIth IAU General Assembly (18th)

|align=center | 1982

|Patras, Greece

|-

|XIXth IAU General Assembly (19th)

|align=center | 1985

|New Delhi, India

|-

|XXth IAU General Assembly (20th)

|align=center | 1988

|Baltimore, Maryland, United States

|-

|XXIst IAU General Assembly (21st)

|align=center | 1991

|Buenos Aires, Argentina

|-

|XXIInd IAU General Assembly (22nd)

|align=center | 1994

|The Hague, Netherlands

|-

|XXIIIrd IAU General Assembly (23rd)

|align=center | 1997

|Kyoto, Japan

|-

|XXIVth IAU General Assembly (24th)

|align=center | 2000

|Manchester, England, United Kingdom

|-

|XXVth IAU General Assembly (25th)

|align=center | 2003

|Sydney, Australia

|-

|XXVIth IAU General Assembly (26th)

|align=center | 2006

|Prague, Czech Republic

|-

|XXVIIth IAU General Assembly (27th)

|align=center | 2009

|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

|-

|XXVIIIth IAU General Assembly (28th)

|align=center | 2012

|Beijing, China

|-

|XXIXth IAU General Assembly (29th)

|align=center | 2015

|Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

|-

|XXXth IAU General Assembly (30th)

|align=center | 2018

|Vienna, Austria

|-

|XXXIst IAU General Assembly (31st)

|align=center | 2022

|Busan, South Korea

|-

|XXXIInd IAU General Assembly (32nd)

|align=center | 2024

|Cape Town, South Africa

|-

|XXXIIIrd IAU General Assembly (33rd)

|align=center | 2027

|Rome, Italy

|-

|XXXIVth IAU General Assembly (34th)

|align=center | 2030

|Santiago, Chile

|}

List of the presidents of the IAU

Sources.

  • (1919–1922) Benjamin Baillaud
  • (1922–1925) William Wallace Campbell
  • (1925–1928) Willem de Sitter
  • (1928–1932) Frank Watson Dyson
  • (1932–1935) Frank Schlesinger
  • (1935–1938) Ernest Esclangon
  • (1938–1944) Arthur Eddington
  • (1944–1948) Harold Spencer Jones
  • (1948–1952) Bertil Lindblad
  • (1952–1955) Otto Struve
  • (1955–1958) André-Louis Danjon
  • (1958–1961) Jan Oort
  • (1961–1964) Victor Ambartsumian
  • (1964–1967) Pol Swings
  • (1967–1970) Otto Heckmann
  • (1970–1973) Bengt Strömgren
  • (1973–1976) Leo Goldberg
  • (1976–1979) Adriaan Blaauw
  • (1979–1982) Vainu Bappu
  • (1982–1985) Robert Hanbury Brown
  • (1985–1988) Jorge Sahade
  • (1988–1991) Yoshihide Kozai
  • (1991–1994) Alexandr Boyarchuk
  • (1994–1997) Lodewijk Woltjer
  • (1997–2000) Robert Kraft
  • (2000–2003) Franco Pacini
  • (2003–2006) Ronald Ekers
  • (2006–2009) Catherine Cesarsky
  • (2009–2012) Robert Williams
  • (2012–2015) Norio Kaifu
  • (2015–2018) Silvia Torres-Peimbert
  • (2018–2021) Ewine van Dishoeck
  • (2021–2024) Debra Elmegreen
  • (2024–present) Willy Benz

Commission 46: Education in astronomy

Commission 46 is a Committee of the Executive Committee of the IAU, playing a special role in the discussion of astronomy development with governments and scientific academies. The IAU is affiliated with the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), a non-governmental organization representing a global membership that includes both national scientific bodies and international scientific unions. They often encourage countries to become members of the IAU. The Commission further seeks to development, information or improvement of astronomical education. Part of Commission 46, is Teaching Astronomy for Development (TAD) program in countries where there is currently very little astronomical education. Another program is named the Galileo Teacher Training Program (GTTP), is a project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, among which Hands-On Universe that will concentrate more resources on education activities for children and schools designed to advance sustainable global development. GTTP is also concerned with the effective use and transfer of astronomy education tools and resources into classroom science curricula. A strategic plan for the period 2010–2020 has been published.

Publications

thumb|upright|Cover picture of CAP Journal issue 19, March 2016

In 2004 the IAU contracted with the Cambridge University Press to publish the Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union.

In 2007, the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal Working Group prepared a study assessing the feasibility of the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal (CAP Journal).

See also

  • List of astronomy acronyms
  • Astronomical naming conventions
  • List of proper names of stars
  • Planetary nomenclature
  • Standards of Fundamental Astronomy

References

<!-- end of reflist -->

  • Statutes of the IAU, VII General Assembly (1948), pp. 13–15
  • XXVIth General Assembly 2006
  • XXVIIth General Assembly 2009
  • XXVIIIth General Assembly 2012
  • XXIXth General Assembly 2015
  • XXXth General Assembly 2018
  • XXXIst General Assembly 2022
  • XXXIIst General Assembly 2024