International Astronomical Union

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The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy. Headquartered in Paris, France, it 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. The IAU maintains friendly relations with organizations that include amateur astronomers in their membership.

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.

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News tagged with international astronomical union

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The public's "right to starlight" is being eroded by urban illumination that is the bane of astronomers everywhere

We have a 'right to starlight,' astronomers say

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Aug 15, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (31) | 38

The public's "right to starlight" is steadily being eroded by urban illumination that is the bane of astronomers everywhere, the International Astronomical Union said on Friday.

Astronomers hit a telescopic jackpot

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Jan 12, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (10) | 1

Astronomers this year are about to get a windfall of new and improved telescopes of unprecedented power with which to explore the universe. The bonanza arrives 400 years after Galileo spied craters on the moon through the ...

Saturn has small moon hidden in ring

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Mar 03, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (5) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found within Saturn's G ring an embedded moonlet that appears as a faint, moving pinprick of light. Scientists believe it is a main source of the G ring and its ...

Astronomy's bright future

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Mar 02, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (5) | 2

To mark UNESCO's International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009), six leading astronomers from the UK, the US, Europe and Asia write in March's Physics World about the biggest challenges and opportunities facing international astron ...

NASA image shows hot blue stars deep inside an elliptical galaxy

Eyes to the skies for the 'Galilean Nights'

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Oct 22, 2009 | 4 / 5 (3) | 1

Astronomers around the world are gearing up for three days of intense sky-watching in honour of Galileo, whose observations 400 years ago revolutionised our understanding of the cosmos.

Bulgarian children look at a eclipse of the sun through a telescope in the Black Sea port of Varna

World event hopes to lure 1 mln to astronomy

Space & Earth / Astronomy

Apr 02, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

At sunset on Thursday, astronomers around the world will be limbering up for a 100-hour marathon aimed at celebrating the night sky and nurturing the Galileos of tomorrow.