TheInternational Astronomical Union (IAU;French:Union astronomique internationale,UAI) is aninternational non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancingastronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and development through global cooperation. It was founded on 28 July 1919 inBrussels, Belgium, and is based inParis, 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. As of May 2024,[update] the Union had 85 national members and 12,734 individual members, spanning 90 countries and territories.[5]
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 toastronomical objects, and for setting uniform definitions for astronomical principles. It also coordinates with national and international partners, such asUNESCO, to fulfill its mission.
The International Astronomical Union is an international association of professionalastronomers, at the PhD level and beyond, active in professional research and education inastronomy.[6] Among other activities, it acts as the recognized authority for assigning designations and names tocelestial bodies (stars,planets,asteroids, etc.) and any surface features on them.[7]
The IAU is a member of theInternational Science Council. Its main objective is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU maintains friendly relations with organizations that includeamateur astronomers in their membership. The IAU has its head office on the second floor of theInstitut d'Astrophysique de Paris in the14th arrondissement of Paris.[8]
This organisation has many working groups. For example, the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN), which maintains theastronomical naming conventions andplanetary nomenclature for planetary bodies, and theWorking 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 theCentral Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. TheMinor Planet Center also operates under the IAU, and is a "clearinghouse" for all non-planetary or non-moon bodies in the Solar System.[9]
The IAU was founded on 28 July 1919, at the Constitutive Assembly of the International Research Council (now theInternational Science Council) held inBrussels, Belgium.[10][11] Two subsidiaries of the IAU were also created at this assembly: theInternational Time Commission seated at theInternational Time Bureau in Paris, France, and theInternational Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams initially seated inCopenhagen, Denmark.[10]
The seven initial member states were Belgium, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, and the United States, soon to be followed by Italy and Mexico.[10] The first executive committee consisted ofBenjamin Baillaud (President, France),Alfred Fowler (General Secretary, UK), and four vice presidents:William Campbell (US),Frank Dyson (UK),Georges Lecointe (Belgium), andAnnibale Riccò (Italy).[10] Thirty-two Commissions (referred to initially as Standing Committees) were appointed at the Brussels meeting and focused on topics ranging from relativity to minor planets. The reports of these 32 Commissions formed the main substance of the first General Assembly, which took place in Rome, Italy, 2–10 May 1922.
By the end of the first General Assembly, ten additional nations (Australia, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Africa, and Spain) had joined the Union, bringing the total membership to 19 countries. Although the Union was officially formed eight months after the end of World War I, international collaboration in astronomy had been strong in the pre-war era (e.g., theAstronomische Gesellschaft Katalog projects since 1868, theAstrographic Catalogue since 1887, and the International Union for Solar research since 1904).[10]
The first 50 years of the Union's history are well documented.[10][11] Subsequent history is recorded in the form of reminiscences of past IAU Presidents and General Secretaries. Twelve of the fourteen past General Secretaries in the period 1964–2006 contributed their recollections of the Union's history in IAU Information Bulletin No. 100.[12] Six past IAU Presidents in the period 1976–2003 also contributed their recollections in IAU Information Bulletin No. 104.[13]
Starting in 2024, the Union, in partnership with theUnited Nations, is poised to play a critical role in developing the legislation and framework forlunar industrialization.[16]
The IAU includes member organizations from 82 countries (designated as national members).
As of 1 August 2019, the IAU has a total of 13,701individual members, who are professional astronomers from 102 countries worldwide; 81.7% of individual members are male, while 18.3% are female.[17]
The sovereign body of the IAU is itsGeneral Assembly, which comprises all members. The Assembly determines IAU policy, approves the Statutes and By-Laws of the Union (and amendments proposed thereto) and elects various committees.
The right to vote on matters brought before the Assembly varies according to the type of business under discussion. The Statutes consider such business to be divided into two categories:
issues of a "primarily scientific nature" (as determined by the Executive Committee), upon which voting is restricted to individual members, and
all other matters (such as Statute revision and procedural questions), upon which voting is restricted to the representatives of national members.
On budget matters (which fall into the second category), votes are weighted according to the relative subscription levels of the national members. A second category vote requires a turnout of at least two-thirds of national members to be valid. An absolute majority is sufficient for approval in any vote, except for Statute revision which requires atwo-thirds majority. An equality of votes is resolved by the vote of the President of the Union.[citation needed]
Since 1922, the IAU General Assembly meets every three years, except for the period between 1938 and 1948, due toWorld War II.After a Polish request in 1967, and by a controversial decision[18] of the then President of the IAU, anExtraordinary IAU General Assembly was held in September 1973 inWarsaw, Poland,[19] to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth ofNicolaus Copernicus, soon after the regular 1973 GA had been held in Sydney.
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 whichHands-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.[28]
Cover picture ofCAP Journal issue 19, March 2016[29]
In 2004 the IAU contracted with theCambridge University Press to publish theProceedings of the International Astronomical Union.[30]
In 2007, the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal Working Group prepared a study assessing the feasibility of theCommunicating Astronomy with the Public Journal (CAP Journal).[31]
^"IAU Secretariat." International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 26 May 2011. "Address: IAU – UAI Secretariat 98-bis Blvd Arago F–75014 PARIS FRANCE" and "The IAU Secretariat is located in the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, 2nd floor, offices n°270, 271 and 283."
^Колчинский И. Г., Корсунь А. А., Родригес М. Г. (1977).Астрономы. Биографический справочник (in Russian). Киев: Наукова Думка.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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