The Hellenic Astronomical Society (Hel.A.S.), in greek Ελληνική Αστρονομική Εταιρεία (ΕΛ.ΑΣ.ΕΤ.), is a scientific non profit society of professional

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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

s in Greece. Its formal headquarters are at the Dept. of Physics of the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

. The main goal of the Society is to advance the research in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

, astrophysics and space physics, as well as to support all educational astronomical activities. As is typical for scientific societies it consists of ordinary members, who have a

PhD degree A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in astrophysics and closely related fields, as well as junior and associate members.

History

Hel.A.S. was formally founded on May 25, 1993.

John Hugh Seiradakis John Seiradakis (Greek: Ιωάννης-Χιου Σειραδάκης; 5 March 1948 – 3 May 2020) was a Greek astronomer and professor emeritus at the Department of Physics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is best known for his co ...

, professor of astronomy at the

University of Thessaloniki A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, was the driving force in drafting the constitution of the Society, with the support from Dr. D. Sinachopoulos and Profs. S. Avgoloupis, V. Barbanis, S. Persides, N. Spyrou and H. Varvoglis. The final form of the constitution was presented during th
1st Hellenic Astronomical Conference
that took place on 21–23 September 1992 in Athens, and it was supported by 66 founding members. In January 1994 the Society membership rose to 140 and the first elections for the governing council took place on June 2, 1994. Hel.A.S. is also an affiliate of the

European Astronomical Society The European Astronomical Society (EAS) is a learned society, founded under the Swiss Civil Code in 1990, as an association to contribute and promote the advancement of astronomy in Europe, and to deal with astronomical matters at a European lev ...

. Nearly 40% of the members of the Society work outside Greece, including prominent members of the Greek diaspora such as Prof. Yervant Terzian, Prof. Chryssa Kouveliotou, Prof. Vicky Kalogera, etc.

Officers

The following University Professors served as Presidents of the Society: * George Contopoulos (

), 1994-1996 & 1996-1998 *

(

), 1998-2000 & 2000-2002 * Paul Laskarides (

), 2002-2004 & 2004-2006 * Kanaris Tsinganos (

), 2006-2008 & 2008-2010 * Nick Kylafis ( Univ. of Crete), 2010-2012 & 2012-2014 * Loukas Vlahos (

), 2014-2016 * Apostolos Mastichiadis (

), 2016-2018 & 2018-2020 * Vassilis Charmandaris ( Univ. of Crete), 2020–present

Publications, Conferences and Events

The Society publishes annually a magazine, "

Hipparchos Hipparchus (; el, Ἵππαρχος, ''Hipparkhos''; BC) was a Greek astronomer, geographer, and mathematician. He is considered the founder of trigonometry, but is most famous for his incidental discovery of the precession of the equi ...

" containing scientific articles and news related to greek astronomy in english. Since March 1998 it also issues a monthly electronic newsletter, also in english, which is distributed by e-mail to all members and it is also available in the webpage of the Society. The Society also organises, since its creation, an international astrophysics conference which takes place every two years in different cities of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. On June 7, 2021 the Council of the Society decided to honour the memory of Prof. John H. Seiradakis, a past president of Hel.A.S. who had contributed substantially to the establishment of the Society, by naming one of the plenary lectures of the conference as "John H. Seiradakis Plenary Lecture". The "J.H. Seiradakis" lecturers have been: * 2021 - Dr. Francisco (Paco) Colomer, JIVE Director (The Netherlands) * 2023 - Prof. Dr. Michael Kramer, Director Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy (Germany) A number of public outreach activities are supported by the Society and its members throughout Greece, often is close collaboration with amateur astronomy clubs. A large number of them took place in 2009 to celebrate the

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

International Year of Astronomy The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) was a year-long celebration of astronomy that took place in 2009 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei and the pu ...

and many others in 2019 on the occasion of the 100 year anniversary of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

Prizes

Hel.A.S. awards every two years the "Best PhD prize of the Society" to a member who has successfully completed their dissertation in astrophysics during the previous 2 years. The person selected is invited to present the results of her/his thesis to the Conference of the Society. The individuals awarded the best PhD prize are the following: * 2021: Georgios Valogiannis (

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, USA) *2019: Georgios Vasilopoulos ( MPE and

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) *2017: Ioannis Liodakis ( Univ. of Crete, Greece) and Antonios Nathanail ( Univ. of Athens, Greece) * 2015: Maria Petropoulou ( Univ. of Athens, Greece) * 2013: Emmanouil Papastergis (

, USA) * 2000: Spyros Basilakos ( Univ. of Athens, Greece) * 1999: Emmanuel Xilouris ( Univ. of Athens, Greece) * 1998: Markos Georganopoulos{{Cite web, title=Markos Georganopoulos - Department of Physics - UMBC, url=https://physics.umbc.edu/people/faculty/georganopoulos/, website=physics.umbc.edu, access-date=2020-05-10 (

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, USA) In September 2020, the Governing Council of the Society decided to rename the prize to "Best PhD thesis prize - Emilios Harlaftis", in honour of the late astrophysicist and member of the Society, Dr. Emilios Harlaftis.

External links

Non-profit organizations based in Greece Astronomy in Greece