iPedia Free Information Center

Information about International Astronomical Union

“IAU” redirects here. For other uses, see IAU (disambiguation).


Enlarge picture
Logo of the IAU, initialism both in French and English (UAI for Union Astronomique Internationale and IAU for International Astronomical Union)
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) unites national astronomical societies from around the world. It also acts as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies (stars, planets, asteroids, etc.) and any surface features on them, and is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU). The main aim of the IAU is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. Headquartered in Paris, France, its individual members are professional astronomers from all over the world, at the Ph.D. level or beyond, and active in professional research and education in astronomy. The IAU maintains friendly relations with organizations that include amateur astronomers in their membership. National Members are usually those with a significant level of professional astronomy.

Working groups include the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN), which maintains the astronomical naming conventions and planetary nomenclature for planetary bodies. 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 (MPC), a clearinghouse for all non-planetary or non-moon bodies in the solar system, also operates under the IAU.

History

The IAU was founded in 1919, as a merger of various international projects including the Carte du Ciel, the Solar Union and the International Time Bureau (Bureau International de l'Heure). The first appointed President was Benjamin Baillaud. Pieter Johannes van Rhijn served as president from 1932 to 1958.

Composition

The IAU has 9,785 individual members, all of whom are professional astronomers and most of whom hold PhDs. There are also 63 national members who represent countries affiliated with the IAU. 87% of individual members are male; 13% are female. The union's current president is astronomer Catherine J. Cesarsky.

The sovereign body of the IAU is its General 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 in order to be valid. An absolute majority is sufficient for approval in any vote, except for Statute revision which requires a two-thirds majority. An equality of votes is resolved by the vote of the President of the Union.

General Assemblies

The IAU General Assembly meets every three years, with the exception of WWII. Past meetings include:

The XXVIth General Assembly and the definition of a planet

Main article: 2006 definition of planet


The XXVIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union was held from August 14 to August 25, 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic. On 15 August the Assembly decided to restore to individual members the right to vote on scientific matters, which had been removed from them at the XXVth Assembly in 2003. Among the business before the Assembly was a proposal to adopt a formal definition of planet. During the General Assembly the text of the definition evolved from the initial proposal that would have created 12 known planets in our solar system (adding initially the asteroid Ceres, Pluto's present moon Charon and Eris and would retain Pluto as a planet) to the final definition of a planet resolution that was passed on August 24 by the Assembly, which classified Ceres, Eris and Pluto as dwarf planets, and reduced the number of planets in the solar system to 8. The voting procedure followed IAU's Statutes[1] and Working Rules[2]. The General Assembly lasted 12 days and had 2412 participants[3], most of them for only part of the duration of the Assembly. 424 of the 9785 individual IAU members attended the Closing Ceremony 24 August 2006. Following the August 24th, 2006, parts of the scientific community did not agree with this ruling, especially the specific wording of the resolution, and criticized IAU's authority to name celestial bodies. In the ensuing public debate a number of laypersons, especially school children, expressed (at times strong emotional) disagreement with the vote. Another, less vocal, fraction of the scientific community backs the resolution.

See also

External links

References

  • Statutes of the IAU, VII: General Assembly, ss. 13-15
IAU may refer to:
  • International Astronomical Union
  • International American University
  • International Association of Universities
  • International Association of Ultra Runners for ultramarathoners.

..... Click the link for more information.
Astronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere (such as the cosmic background radiation).
..... Click the link for more information.
STAR is an acronym for:

Organizations:
  • Society for Telescopy, Astronomy, and Radio, a non-profit astronomy club in New Jersey
  • Special Tasks and Rescue or Special Tactics and Response, synonyms for SWAT

..... Click the link for more information.
planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion in its core, and has cleared its neighbouring region of
..... Click the link for more information.
Asteroids, also called minor planets or planetoids, are a class of astronomical objects. The term asteroid is generally used to indicate a diverse group of small celestial bodies in the solar system that orbit around the Sun.
..... Click the link for more information.
The International Council for Science (ICSU), formerly called the International Council of Scientific Unions, was founded in 1931 as an international non-governmental organization devoted to international co-operation in the advancement of science.
..... Click the link for more information.
A to Z. Afterward, pairs of lower-case letters are used, starting with aa, ab, and so on. Four historical supernovae are known simply by the year they occurred (SN 1006, 1054, 1572 (Tycho's Nova), and 1604 (Kepler's Star)); starting with 1885, the letters are
..... Click the link for more information.
Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) is the official international clearing house for information relating to transient astronomical events.

The CBAT collects and distributes information on comets, natural satellites, novae, supernovae and other
..... Click the link for more information.
The Minor Planet Center operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), which is part of the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) along with the Harvard College Observatory (HCO).
..... Click the link for more information.
Solar System or solar system[a] consists of the Sun and the other celestial objects gravitationally bound to it: the eight planets, their 166 known moons,[1]
..... Click the link for more information.
Carte du Ciel ("Map of the Sky") was an international project to map the positions of millions of stars — that is to say, of all stars to the 11th or 12th magnitude. In English, the project was sometimes known as the Astrographic Chart.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Bureau International de l'Heure (BIH) or the International Time Bureau, seated at the Paris Observatory, was the international bureau responsible for combining different measurements of Universal Time.
..... Click the link for more information.
Édouard Benjamin Baillaud (February 14, 1848 – July 8, 1934) was a French astronomer.

Baillaud studied at the École Normale Supérieure and the University of Paris. He worked as an assistant at the Paris Observatory beginning in 1872.
..... Click the link for more information.
Pieter Johannes van Rhijn (March 24, 1886—May 9, 1960) was a Dutch astronomer. Born in Gouda, he studied at Groningen. He served as director at the Sterrenkundig Laboratorium ("Kapteyn Astronomical Institute") in Groningen and later served for many years as president of the
..... Click the link for more information.
worldwide view of the subject.
Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page.
"Ph.D." redirects here, for other uses see Ph.D. (disambiguation).


Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph.D.
..... Click the link for more information.
Catherine J. Cesarsky

Catherine J. Cesarsky
Born January 24 1943 (1943--) (age 64)
..... Click the link for more information.
A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority in order to have effect.
..... Click the link for more information.
Běijīng
北京
The Temple of Heaven, a symbol of Beijing
Location within China
Coordinates:
Country People's Republic of China
..... Click the link for more information.
This page contains Chinese text.
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.
China (Traditional Chinese:
..... Click the link for more information.
Rio de Janeiro
Rio at night.

Flag
Seal
Nickname: Cidade Maravilhosa ("The Marvelous City") or simply, Rio
Location of Rio de Janeiro
Coordinates:
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
Ordem e Progresso   (Portuguese)
"Order and Progress"
Anthem
Hino Nacional Brasileiro
..... Click the link for more information.
MottoPraga Caput Rei publicae |- class="mergedrow" title="Nickname(s)" | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | NicknameCity of a Hundred Spires |- class="mergedrow"

Country  Czech Republic
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"Pravda vítězí"   (Czech)
"Truth prevails"
Anthem
Kde domov můj
..... Click the link for more information.
Sydney
New South Wales

Location of Sydney within Australia

Population:
• Density: 4,280,190 (2006 Census) (1st)
345.
..... Click the link for more information.
Anthem
Advance Australia Fair [1]


Capital Canberra

Largest city Sydney
..... Click the link for more information.
City of Manchester
Manchester City Centre

Coat of Arms of the City Council
Nickname: "Capital of the North", "Cottonopolis", "Madchester", "Second city"
Motto: "Concilio Et Labore"
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
..... Click the link for more information.
Kyoto (京都市) listen   (help info )
..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter