American Astronomical Society

American Astronomical Society
Formation 1899
Type NGO
Purpose To enhance and share humanity's scientific understanding of the Universe.
Headquarters Washington, DC
Membership
7,000
President
 Megan Urry [1]
Vice Pres.
 Paula Szkody [1]
Vice Pres.
 Chryssa Kouveliotou[1]
Vice Pres.
 Jack O. Burns[1]
Website https://aas.org/
Formerly called
 Astronomical and Astrophysical Society of America

The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the advancement of astronomy and closely related branches of science, while the secondary purpose includes enhancing astronomy education and providing a political voice for its members through lobbying and grassroots activities. Its current mission is to enhance and share humanity's scientific understanding of the universe.

History

The society was founded in 1899 through the efforts of George Ellery Hale. The constitution of the group was written by Hale, George Comstock, Edward Morley, Simon Newcomb and Edward Charles Pickering. These men plus four others were the first Executive Council of the society, Newcomb was the first president. The initial membership was 114. The AAS name of the society was not finally decided until 1915, previously it was the "Astronomical and Astrophysical Society of America". One proposed name that preceded this interim name was "American Astrophysical Society".[2]

The AAS today has over 7,000 members and six divisions - the Division for Planetary Sciences (1968), the Division on Dynamical Astronomy (1969), the High Energy Astrophysics Division (1969), the Solar Physics Division (1969), the Historical Astronomy Division (1980) and the Laboratory Astrophysics Division (2012). The membership includes physicists, mathematicians, geologists, engineers and others whose research interests lie within the broad spectrum of subjects now comprising contemporary astronomy.

Divisions

Because the field of astronomy is diverse, several divisions have been formed each of which promotes and enables a different branch of astronomy or astronomy-related science as well as working within the overall charter of the AAS. Many of the divisions hold separate meetings in addition to meeting with the main group. The divisions of the AAS, together with their main research interests, are:

Publications

Prizes

Similar prizes are awarded by AAS divisions. These include:

The AAS also manages an International Travel Grant program, which any astronomer working in the US may apply to for funding opportunities and other smaller grant and award programs.

Past presidents

The following past and present members served as presidents of the society during the listed periods:[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Current Council, American Astronomical Society, 2015–2016.
  2. ↑ Brant L. Sponberg & David H. DeVorkin. "How did the AAS get its name?". History of the Society. Retrieved 21 August 2005.
  3. ↑ Past Officers and Councilors, American Astronomical Society, retrieved 2013-03-16.

External links

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