The International Astronomical Union (IAU): A young centenarian (1919-2019)
Abstract
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has turned 100 this year. After a difficult and painful beginning in the aftermath of WWI, establishing itself as a leading international scientific union and solidifying at its first General Assembly in Rome (1922) with 207 individual members representing 19 countries, it has experienced a quasi-exponential growth since then, even accelerating during the ``space race'' era, to reach over 13,500 members today, representing 107 countries. This paper highlights some important steps in this evolution, the role of France within the IAU, and concludes with a brief outline of present and future projects.
- Publication:
-
SF2A-2019: Proceedings of the Annual meeting of the French Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019sf2a.conf...53M
- Keywords:
-
- IAU: history;
- IAU: growth;
- IAU: Commissions;
- IAU: Divisions;
- IAU: Offices