International Astronomical Union (IAU), official website:https://www.iau.org/It is a non-governmental academic organization jointly formed by astronomical academic groups around the world. Its purpose is to organize international academic exchanges, promote international cooperation and promote the development of astronomy.The International Astronomical Union was founded in Brussels in July 1919.
The Astronomical Union has 73 member countries, including most countries with a high degree of professional astronomical research.The direct participation of more than 10528 members of the Astronomical Union, who are mainly engaged in various disciplines of terrestrial and space astronomy.
July 1919International Council of Scientific UnionsstayBelgiumBrusselsAt the meeting, the International Astronomical Union was announced.itsmissionIt is to organize international academic exchanges, promote international cooperation and promote the development of astronomy.IAU has 10528 members in more than 95 countries and regions.There are 73 member states.[1]
In 1976, there were 44 Member States. At the beginning of 1979, there were about 3400 members. In 1985, there were 49 Member States with more than 6000 members.
People regard July 28, 1919 as the date of the establishment of the IAU, because the IRC Articles of Association were passed on that day, although the IAU's own Articles of Association were passed two days ago.At that session, the new International Time Committee and the Time Bureau and the International Astronomical Telegraph Central Bureau were established at the same time to unify the world's time work and the broadcasting and naming of astronomical discoveries.It is natural for scientists to first choose astronomy to establish a federation, because human beings live under the same sky, and the common observation and research objects are the basic characteristics of astronomy. No one, no country, no nation can monopolize the sky.The limitations of observatories in observing the stars require that observatories all over the world unite.Frederick John Marrian Stratton, chairman of IAU and British astronomer, said in his speech at the 1934 conference:
"... Science is born truly international, with no borders, no nationality, and no racial distinction... Astronomy shares the science without borders in a general sense.However, in a sense, astronomy is basically an international science: no observatory can see the whole sky, and no observer can continuously observe the changing activities of celestial bodies such as the sun or supernovae;The acquisition of the most complete knowledge of the stellar universe only comes from the international cooperation of observers and observation instruments all over the world... "The infinity of the universe in time and space also forces humans to work together hand in hand.the First World WarPreviously publishedGerman Astronomical SocietyThe first volume of the catalog (AGK1 catalog), which has spent more than 50 years of observations on 13 frames of the meridian circle in 7 countries, only contains the positions of about 140000 stars, while the HD catalog, which contains the spectra of about 270000 stars, has also infiltratedHarvard University Observatory47 years of efforts.It is estimated that there are 200 billion stars in the Milky Way. According to this measurement speed, it will take millions of years to measure all the stars in the Milky Way!Besides, there are countless galaxies like the Milky Way in the universe.In fact, before the establishment of IAU, astronomers had established many similar cooperative organizations for cooperative observation and research.The most important one is the International Solar Research Cooperation Federation, or the International Solar Union for short.
ISU was founded in 1904 and ended in World War I.People often regard it as the predecessor of IAU, because only ISU has a complete charter, and it was inspired, advocated and planned by the head of Mount Wilson Observatory in the United States.According to the earliest constitution of IAU (21 paragraphs in eight chapters), the purpose of this organization is to "promote the necessary and useful international cooperation between astronomers from different countries" and "promote research in various fields of astronomy".Today's constitution of IAU stipulates concisely that it is a "non-governmental international organization whose purpose is to promote the development of various fields of astronomy".Over the past 90 years, IAU has indeed achieved its own set goals.Throughout the 90 years, we can find that human understanding of the universe has undergone tremendous changes.90 years ago, humans thought that the universe was static, unchanging and eternal. The scale of the Milky Way is the boundary of the universe. Galaxies, called nebulae, are a family of the Milky Way. The chemical elements in the universe do not know where they come from, why they take such abundance, where the energy of the sun comes from, and how stars form and evolve.After just 90 years, human beings have extended their eyes to the early days of the birth of the universe. They have observed billions of galaxies in the visible universe, not only knowing the present of the universe, but also inferring its past and predicting its future;Humans have known the origin of the Big Bang of chemical elements and the internal origin of stars;Humans have a fairly complete understanding of the internal structure, energy, formation and evolution of stars;Humans have also known the basic composition and structure of the universe.
90 years ago, human beings could only observe optically on the ground.Today, the observation band has expanded to the entire electromagnetic band, forming a huge three-dimensional observation network from the ground to space.The reason why astronomy has made great achievements is undoubtedly the progress of science and technology in the same period, especially physics, space technology and computer technology. It is also the result of the hard work of astronomers all over the world. Of course, it is also inseparable from the sincere cooperation of astronomers all over the world, which is the great contribution made by IAU.Promoting astronomy education and research in developing countries is another basic task of IAU today.IAU has three special working groups - "International School for Young Astronomers (ISYA)", "Astronomical Development Education (TAD)" and "World Wide Astronomical Development (WWDA)", to promote basic astronomy education in developing countries and train young astronomers.IAU is also the authoritative organization for astronomical activities in the world today. It is the authoritative organization for naming celestial bodies, naming celestial surface features (the surface of the moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, etc.), and astronomical discoveries and dissemination related to astronomy, such as astronomical constants and astronomical terminology[2]。
Main meetings
Announce
edit
Xi Jinping Attends the 2012 Beijing International Astronomical Federation
Since 1922, the IAU has held a plenary meeting every three years to discuss the overall IAU policy, and there have been seminars such as the publication of research results, as well as the selection of the new IAU executive committee members, members of the subordinate committees, and the recommendation of new members.In addition, they also regularly visitAsia-PacificLatin America held various regional meetings.With the development of various astronomical events, small-scale academic seminars will also be held at any time.
At the beginning of the 2022 New Year, the Beijing Astronomical Museum, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society, signed a tripartite agreement with the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE), officially establishing the IAU Astronomical Education Office China Center (hereinafter referred to as "IAU-OAE China Center"), becoming an official part of IAU-OAE.The official website of IAU-OAE issued a news announcement in February, announcing the establishment of the China Center and other three centers.
The education and popularization of astronomy has attracted more and more attention from people all over the world, and has also attracted great attention from astronomers all over the world.In August 2018, at the 30th International Astronomical Union (IAU) Congress held in Vienna, IAU released the 2020-2030 strategic plan and decided to establish the fourth IAU subordinate office - the Office of Astronomical Education (OAE,Office of Astronomy for Education)。[4]
Organization composition
Announce
edit
organization
The International Astronomical Union holds several symposiums and symposiums every year, and a general meeting every three years to promote academic exchanges and re-election of responsible personnel.There are more than 40 professional committees divided by branch disciplines or celestial objects, and each professional committee is also given a serial number, such as 4. (the fourth professional committee, the same below)ephemeris，6.Astronomical telegraph，7.Celestial mechanicsEtc.Each professional committee may organize various academic activities separately.IAU also holds various academic conferences jointly with other international academic organizations.Its publications include《Conference proceedings》、《Special Series of Astronomical Progress》、《Proceedings of Academic Seminar》Etc.The regular publication of the Federation has the International Astronomical Union Newsletter, which reports on the conference.Some departments also publish a card type astronomical phenomenon report, the International Astronomical Union Express, and《Astronomical TelegraphEtc.In addition, the proceedings of each symposium and symposium were also published.
Association
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union holds several symposiums and symposiums every year;A general meeting is held every three years to promote academic exchanges and re elect responsible personnel.The Federation has an Executive Committee, consisting of a Chairman, six Vice Chairmen, a Secretary General and an Assistant Secretary General.It has several professional groups.The 16th Federation (1976-1979) has 50 groups: 4. (indicating the fourth group, the same below) ephemeris, 5. literature, 6. astronomical telegraph, 7. astromechanics, 8. azimuth astronomy, 9. astronomical instruments, 10. solar activity, 12. solar radiation and solar atmospheric structure, 14. basic spectral data, 15Comet, smallplanetAnd meteorite physics, 16. Planetary and satellite physics, 17. Moon, 19. Earth rotation, 20. Position and motion of asteroids, comets and satellites, 21. Night sky light, 22meteorAnd interplanetary dust, 24. photographic astrometry, 25. stellar photometry and polarization, 26. binary stars, 27. variable stars, 28. galaxies, 29. stellar spectrum, 30. radial velocity, 31. time, 33. structure and dynamics of the Milky Way, 34. interstellar matter and planetary nebulae, 35. internal structure of stars, 36. atmosphere theory of stars, 37. star clusters and star associations, 38. exchange of astronomers, 40. radio astronomy,41. History of Astronomy, 42. Close Binary Stars, 44. Astronomical Observations Outside the Earth's Atmosphere, 45. Spectral Classification and Multi band Color Index, 46. Astronomical Teaching, 47. Cosmology, 48. High Energy Astrophysics, 49. Interplanetary Plasma and Heliosphere, 50. Environmental Protection of Current and Future Observatory Sites.Each professional group organizes various academic activities respectively.IAU also holds various academic conferences jointly with other academic organizations.
Committee 50 Protection of existing and potential observation sites
Organizing activities
Announce
edit
The relationship with space activities can be seen from the names of the departments, committees and working groups.The Astronomical Union does not conduct its own space experiments, but the future large-scale facilities working group is responsible for naming the newly discovered planetary satellites and any surface features.Similarly, the IAU/IFRSUInter Association Committee on Frequency Allocation in Radio Astronomy and Space ScienceEfforts should be made to properly reconcile the demand competition for radio channel space from scientific research and other activities, mainly telecommunications activities.The IAU publications provide further information, and the IAU Internet page provides links to the web pages of academic departments, committees and working groups.
One issue of urgent concern to IAU is the growing threat to the effectiveness of astronomical observation and research caused by other activities in space.In addition to the obvious light pollution on the ground that can be seen from space, astronomical observation is increasingly subject to the interference of space debris and radio wave satellite transmission density greatly increased by visible light wavelength light, which may devour the extremely weak signals of cosmic objects.This new and serious threat of space advertising has begun to appear;Several recent activities have been prevented recently, but some form of international regulation must be developed, or it will be too late.IAU will work closely with the United Nations to address such issues that do not respect national boundaries.
One of the main activities of IAU is the organization of high-profile international scientific conferences covering space andGround astronomyAll areas of.Generally, IAU sponsors six symposiums and six academic symposiums every year;In addition, IAU regional astronomical conferences and meetings co organized with other scientific and technological alliances are regularly held.
The IAU Congress is held every three years.The 23rd General Assembly of IAU was held in Kyoto, Japan, in August 1997;The next two conferences will be held in Manchester, United Kingdom, in August 2000 and Sydney, Australia, in July 2003.In addition to the necessary administrative matters, the IAU Congress also carried out a wealth of scientific activities: the Kyoto Conference included three invited seminars, six symposiums, 23 joint seminars, three special scientific conferences and more than 100 meetings of committees and working groups.Nearly 800 papers were read;1100 papers were submitted.
IAU strives to promote astronomy education and research in countries with underdeveloped astronomy.The main activities include the International School of Young Astronomers, teaching for the development of astronomy and the exchange programme for astronomers.UNESCO and the Scientific Council provided partial support for the above activities, and through the Scientific Council, they received regular support from other sources.
The traditional series of activities of the International School of Young Astronomers of the Astronomical Union provide a three week intensive course for 30 to 50 college students or graduate students from the host country and neighbouring countries. In addition to academic reports, it attaches great importance to practical, hands-on experimental activities.Teachers are encouraged to insist on teaching each training course from the beginning to the end, so as to promote the development of personal relations, and monitor the future career of students as far as possible, so as to see the role of the International School of Young Astronomers.The last International School of Young Astronomers was held in Iran in 1997;Another International School of Young Astronomers was held in Romania in 1999.
The established teaching for astronomical development program can provide flexible and long-term support for the training of future high school science teachers.Depending on the local conditions, it may provide support for the travel costs of inviting experienced foreign teachers to give lectures, participate in local or regional conferences, purchase teaching materials and teaching instruments or other needs.The programme is being implemented in Central America (with Honduras as the main base) and Viet Nam.Activities in other countries are being developed.
A time-honored exchange programme for astronomers was implemented by the 38th Committee of the Astronomical Union, which provides travel and accommodation support for scientists to participate in training and research for at least three months.Developing countries may be the destination or the starting point of travel. A specific goal is to enable students to return to their own countries after a visit and enrich the scientific environment there.In 1997, a total of 15 such visits were supported.
New activities are being planned jointly with other scientific council bodies and United Nations organizations.The specific goal is to coordinate activities within a broader range of pure science and applied science, and ensure that trained personnel can be used to their best after returning home, so as to promote the development of their own countries.
In order to highlight the contributions and concerns of astronomers on issues of global significance, IAU is preparing to co organize with other organizations the satellite conference of the Third United Nations Conference on Outer Space, entitled Capacity Building in Astronomy and Basic Space Science and Protection of Astronomical Sky.IAU hopes that these meetings will contribute to the promotion of long-term, coordinated activities to address these issues constructively at the international level.
Provide members with information about the activities of the Astronomical Union in the form of a press release of the Astronomical Union (usually published in January and June each year).The connection between the departments of IAU and the cooperative organizations.
The triennial report on the scientific, technological and organizational activities of IAU is published before each congress in the form of the IAU Astronomical Report Series.The scientific, technological and administrative results of the conference are respectively contained in the IAU Chronicles of Astronomy series and the IAU Journal.The proceedings of the symposium were published by the Astronomical Union Press;The publication of the proceedings of the symposium and other meetings of the Astronomical Union shall be decided by the sponsor.Astronomical Union publications are listed on the web page.
During 1997-2000, the Chairman of the Astronomical Union was RP. Kraft (United States), Secretary General Jndersen (Denmark);The President and the Secretary General designated for the period 2000-2003 are FPacini (Italy) and HRickman (Sweden).
