The Impact of Large Scale Near-IR Sky Surveys

Transactions of the International Astronomical Union, 2000

The membership of the Commission, as of its 50th anniversary in 1998, stands at 146 members and 19 consultants. In order to increase communications, during the report period the President issued six Newsletters to Commission members, consultants, and IAU officers. In a further attempt to increase communications, Commission 41 also instituted a web site (http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/iaucomm41/) in early 1998. This was largely due to the efforts of C41 Organizing Committee member Wolfgang Dick and the kindness of Professor Peter Brosche in supplying space. The site not only contains the Newsletters, meeting notices, and a list of members, but also the Bibliography on History of Astronomy, compiled by Ruth Preitag of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The site also links to the history of astronomy site maintained for several years by the History of Astronomy Working Group of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, and now also maintained on behalf of Commission 41. These sites serve not only for better communication among Commission members, but also the broader history of astronomy community. Slow progress was made on resolutions of previous General Assemblies. On the issue of preserving the sites associated with the Struve arc, Alan Batten represented Commission 41 at the Federation Internationale des G&anetres (International Federation of Surveyors) General Assembly in Brighton, U.K. On the issue of archives, Commission 41 joined an initiative of the Commission on Bibliography and Documentation of the Division of History of Science of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science. The goal is to make the scientific community more aware of the importance of preserving contemporary scientific archives. With his article on "The Royal Astronomical Society's Library and Archives", Peter Hingley, Librarian of the RAS, inaugurated a series of articles in the Commission 41 Newsletter on archives. Work continued, albeit very slowly, on the General History of Astronomy, a long-term project of Commission 41. Volumes 2A and 2B, Planetary Astronomy from the Renaissance to the rise of Astrophysics, edited by Taton and Wilson, were published in 1989 and 1995, while volume 4A, Astrophysics and Twentieth-Century Astronomy to 1950, edited by Gingerich, was published in 1984. Work continues on Volume 3, Stellar Astronomy, Instrumentation and Institutions from the Renaissance to the Mid-Nineteenth Century, edited by Hoskin, and on volume 4B edited by Gingerich. A new editor is being sought for volume 1, Antiquity to the Renaissance. In celebration of the year 2000 and the Millennium in 2001, Commission 41 joined with the U.S. Naval Observatory in sponsoring an around-the-world time ball drop on New Year's Eve for both years. Beginning in 1829 in Portsmouth, 1833 in Greenwich, and 1845 in the United States, time balls were historically an important means of visual time dissemination, and therefore an important part of the history of practical astronomy and navigation. At

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2008

Transactions of the International Astronomical Union, 2000

Commission 46 is dedicated to Teaching of Astronomy. Commission 46 can be seen as an extension of the IAU Executive Committee in the sense that each adhering country has appointed a national representative to the Commission. National Representatives maintain liaison between the Commission and the home country, and write national triennial reports on development of astronomy on their nations. Other IAU astronomers, with special interest in education, can become regular individual members of the Commission. Non-IAU members can be invited by the Commission to serve for one triennial term. Commission 46 considers that one of its major duties is to contribute to enhance astronomy education in developing countries. The Newsletter, the International School for Young Astronomers, the Visiting Lecturer Program and the Travelling Telescope are examples of such activities administered by the Commission. The strength of Commission 46 comes from the hard work that its members do in order to prom...

Transactions of the International Astronomical Union, 2002

astronomy to investigate contemporary astronomical issues. Several members researched the early history of radio astronomy history, particularly in Australia and the USA (e.g. see Orchiston &: Slee 2002). In addition to their ongoing research programs, many ICHA members contributed essays for the Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, edited by T. Hockey and to be published by Kluwer in 2004. C41/ICHA strongly supports this landmark project, and President, F.R. Stephenson, will contribute the Foreword.

Transactions of the International Astronomical Union, 2002

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2013

C46 is a Commission of the Executive Committee of the IAU under Division XII Union-Wide Activities. Aiming at improvement of astronomy education and research at all levels worldwide (through the various projects it initiates),maintains, develops, as well as through the dissemination of information. C46 has 332 members and it was managed by the Organizing Committee, formed by the Commission President (Rosa M. Ros, from Spain), the Vice-Presiden (John Hearnshaw, from New Zealand), the Retiring President (Magda Stavinschi, from Romania), the Vice-President of the IAU (George Miley, from Netherland) and the PG chairs: • Worldwide Development of Astronomy WWDA: John Hearnshaw • Teaching Astronomy for Development TAD: Edward Guinan and Laurence A. Marshall • International Schools for Young Astronomers ISYA; chair: Jean-Pierre de Greve • Network for Astronomy School Education NASE: Rosa M. Ros and Beatriz Garcia • Public Understanding at the times of Solar Eclipses and transit Phenomena PU...

2003

A LONG-RANGE PROGRAM IN SPACE ASTRONOMY, 1969

The Astronomy Missions Board was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by charter in September 1967 to assist in an advisory capacity in the planning and conduct of all NASA missions to create and operate astronomical experiments in space. The scope of the Board’s activities includes: development and review of the scientific objectives and general strategy for space astronomy and associated ground-based astronomy; the formulation of guidelines and specific recommendations for the design of space astronomy missions, and for the various experiments and auxiliary equipment to be developed and used on these missions; the continuing examination of policies relating to the operation of these space observatories once they have been made operational and are available for observations by the scientific community. The work of the Board encompasses the many aspects of space astronomy including direct observations of electromagnetic radiation from astronomical sources, cosmic-ray particles and the supporting research that is necessary, but its scope does not include the study of the Moon and planets from close vantage point or study of the Earth.

The Messenger, 1979

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2011

COMMISSION 41 WORKING GROUPS Div. XII / Commission 41 WG Archives Div. XII / Commission 41 WG Astronomy and World Heritage Div. XII / Commission 41 WG Historic Radio Astronomy Div. XII / Commission 41 WG Historical Instruments Div. XII / Commission 41 WG Johannes Kepler Div. XII / Commission 41 WG Transits of Venus

Astrophysics and Space Science, 1994

Open Astronomy, 1997

The activities of the Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) are reviewed. They include: SIMBAD, the reference database for the identification and bibliography of astronomical objects, the catalog service with the new VizieR Catalogue Browser developed as a joint effort by CDS and ESA/ESRIN and the WWW server. The future evolution of these services, including the distribution of the ALADIN interactive sky atlas, is also assessed.

International Astronomical Union was formed after the First World War although it became truly international only after the Second World War. Its Commission 41 on History of Astronomy (C41) was set up in 1948 and in a few years established itself as an active and influential unit. It has the distinction of being a joint Commission, the other partner being International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPS). Since IAU is an internationally respected body of professional astronomers, its support for history of enhances the credibility of the discipline in the eyes of science establishments of individual countries. C41 is committed to advancing objective and rigorous world history of astronomy taking into account all its aspects. This paper describes the early days of IAU and highlights of the first three decades (1948-1976) of IAU Commission 41: History of Astronomy.