The Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) is the professional body representing

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

s in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Established in 1966, it is incorporated in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

. Membership of the ASA is open to people "capable of contributing to the advancement of astronomy or a closely related field". This means that the members are mainly active professional astronomers and

postgraduate students Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

. Some retired astronomers and distinguished

amateur astronomers Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...

are also members, and several organisations are corporate members of the society. The ASA currently has around 600 members. It publishes a peer-reviewed journal, ''Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia''.

History

At its establishment in 1966, notable astronomer

Ben Gascoigne Sidney Charles Bartholemew "Ben" Gascoigne (11 November 191525 March 2010) was a New Zealand-born optical astronomer and expert in photometry who played a leading role in the design and commissioning of Australia's largest optical telescope, t ...

was its first vice-president.

Activities

The society currently has four topical interest groups: * the Australian National Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (ANITA), a virtual institute which aims to raise the profile of Australian theoretical astrophysics. * the Education and Public Outreach Committee (EPOC), dedicated to advancing the level of public awareness of astronomy. * Women in Astronomy chapter * Early Career Researcher chapter The ASA is trustee of the Foundation for the Advancement of Astronomy (FAA), a tax-deductible foundation intended to enhance the ASA's efforts to promote astronomy and related fields in

, and to recognise and support excellence in those fields. The purposes of the FAA are very broadly defined, allowing its support of prizes, scholarships, research and facilities.

Prizes and awards

The ASA sponsors the following prizes and awards: * The Bok Prize for outstanding research in astronomy by an honours or eligible masters student. * The Charlene Heisler Prize for the most outstanding PhD thesis in astronomy or a closely related field. * The David Allen Prize for exceptional achievement in astronomy communication. * The Louise Webster Prize for outstanding research by a scientist early in their post-doctoral career. * The Ellery Lectureship for outstanding contributions in astronomy or related fields. * The Berenice and Arthur Page Medal for excellence in amateur astronomy.

Professional publications

The ASA's journal is the ''Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia'' (PASA), for which the editor-in-chief is

Bryan Gaensler Bryan Malcolm Gaensler (born 1973) is an Australian astronomer based at the University of Toronto. He studies magnetars, supernova remnants, and magnetic fields. In 2014, he was appointed as Director of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astro ...

. PASA is an ISI-listed, fully refereed electronic-only journal for new and significant research in astrophysics, and is published on behalf of the society by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

References

;Bibliography * ;Notes

External links