PREFACE
As this issue of the Information Bulletin is being mailed out, the IAU Executive Committee is meeting in Santiago, Chile. Its main tasks are to decide on the scientific programme for the XXIVth General Assembly in Manchester next year, and on the formal matters that need to be submitted to the Adhering Organizations in preparation for the business of the GA. At the same time, our UK hosts will be finalising all major arrangements for GA XXIV and preparing the information package that will accompany the Preliminary Announcement. A special issue of the Information Bulletin (No. 85, October 1999), will contain this Announcement as well as full details on the scientific and social programmes of GA XXIV, registration and hotel reservation forms, and much practical information for participants. Look out for IB 85 and keep an eye on our Web site, where all news will be posted promptly!
The format of the General Assembly will follow the pattern from The Hague and Kyoto, with parallel Symposia at the beginning and end, and Invited Discourses, Joint Discussions, and Division and Commission meetings during the period of the GA itself. We have received many exciting proposals for all major types of events, and the EC faces a difficult, but rewarding task in selecting among them. That the final programme will be of a high calibre is already clear.
Another part of the preparations for the General Assembly is the compilation of the triennial Reports on Astronomy (Transactions of the IAU, Vol. XXIVA), covering the period July 1, 1996 through June 30, 1999. As agreed in Kyoto, this volume will allow Divisions, Commissions, and Working Groups more latitude in the format of their reports than previously. Instructions have been mailed out to the Presidents and Chairpersons, and new LaTeX macros are being prepared and will be distributed shortly. In preparing for this volume, I am relieved to report that both the Highlights of Astronomy, Vol. 11A+B and the Transactions of the IAU, Vol. XXIIIB, recording the scientific and administrative business of the Kyoto GA, have now appeared in print as some of the last IAU volumes to be produced by Kluwer under our previous publishing contract. The first Symposium volumes printed by ASP, the new IAU Publisher, have already appeared.
On other matters, I am pleased to extend a warm welcome to the astronomers of our new Associate Member state, Uzbekistan, which joined the IAU at the beginning of 1999 by the established procedure for Republics of the former Soviet Union. We also say "Welcome back!" to our Moroccan friends who are on their way back to the IAU after some years of financial hardship. Following visits earlier this year to Morocco and Jordan (see later), I have some hope that more applications for membership might arrive before the Manchester GA.
Finally, the Secretariat has continued to work quietly and efficiently to improve our services and procedures and eliminate the backlog of work from the past, preparing for the onslaught usually associated with General Assemblies. The dedicated and pleasant cooperation of Monique Léger-Orine and Jodi Greenberg is what keeps the IAU running.
PATRICK ARTHUR WAYMAN
PATRICK A. WAYMAN, The 12th general secretary of the IAU (1979- 1982), died on 21 december 1998 after a short battle with cancer. He was born in Bromley, Kent, educated at the City of London School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and took his Ph.D. degree in optics after spending two years at the Warner and Swasey and Yerkes Observatories, USA. He joined the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1952, first in the Solar Department which he headed from 1955, and from 1960 in the Meridian Department whose head he became in 1963. In 1964 he moved to Ireland as director of Dunsink Observatory until his retirement in 1992. He held the ancient, honourary Andrews professorship in Astronomy at Trinity College Dublin from 1985, and a D.Sc.H.C. degree from the National University of Ireland (1994).
His scientific interests ranged widely and included substantial work on instrumentation for both solar and meridian astronomy as well as advanced imaging cameras and the Armagh-Dunsink-Harvard telescope in South Africa. That telescope was used in major photometric work on the Magellanic Clouds, including a study of period changes in the Cepheids. But his interests also extended to theoretical studies of Galactic and solar-system dynamics. He was a most effective organiser of research, both nationally and internationally, with the negotiation of the Irish participation in the British observatory on La Palma as the most notable example. A strong interest also in the history of astronomy resulted in the restoration of several ancient instruments and a bicentennial history of Dunsink Observatory published in 1987, and was carried on in his retirement.
The vision and energy with which Patrick Wayman served the IAU in several capacities led to some notable achievements. In an historical perspective, the most important is probably the full return in 1982 of the mainland Chinese astronomers to the IAU, the first scientific Union to negotiate the formula of dual adherence that is now a model for the scientific world. The process was begun in 1979 in close cooperation between IAU President Adriaan Blaauw, General Secretary Edith Müller, and then Assistant General Secretary Patrick Wayman, who initiated informal discussions during a visit to the People's Republic. His charm and persistence helped to pave the way for the following long and difficult direct negotiations, the happy end of which was only reached during Wayman's term as General Secretary. It was finally ratified at the XVIIIth IAU General Assembly in Patras, Greece, which was marked by a number of exceptional circumstances - a very short lead time to find a venue and make preparations, a major strike during the GA, and the sad loss of the President, Vainu Bappu, at the start of the GA - which placed extreme demands on his judgment and organizational skills. Under less dramatic circumstances, Patrick Wayman oversaw the start of operations of the permanent Secretariat of the IAU at Observatoire de Paris and the transfer of its archives from Bruxelles and Prague, setting a style of operation that has eased the task of all subsequent General Secretaries.
Patrick Wayman is remembered by friends and associates as a fine and dedicated scientist with a clear and stringent intellect, great personal energy and charm, and considerable tenacity and persistence once he had decided how a problem should be solved. Our warm sympathies go to his wife Mavis and their three children in their loss.
1. FAITS DIVERS
As a non-planetary astronomer, it is perhaps a bit ironic that
I shall probably remember the Asteroid, Near-Asteroid, and
"Small-or-Minor-Planet" community as having provided most of
the drama and entertainment during my term as GS. Hardly was
the manuscript of IB 83 off to press when a seemingly arcane
technical debate on cataloguing and designating Trans
Neptunian Objects (TNOS) erupted into an emotional media
debate accusing the IAU of conspiring to rob poor Pluto of its
status as a planet. To the innocent bystander (your GS), the
fact of the matter seemed about as controversial as giving a
social security number to a person, but the facts quickly
drowned in emotions, and the relevant IAU committees finally
decided to not include Pluto in any TNO catalogues. An
official IAU press release to this effect was issued on
February 4 and put the matter to rest. In retrospect, a useful
lesson from this story is that consensus on the scientific
issues after a broad debate in the whole IAU community is the
basis - and in fact the only basis - for the acceptance of IAU
recommendations or decisions by the General Public.
The potential for more drama reappeared with the discovery in
late March of another asteroid that, based on a few first
observations, was predicted to pass close to Earth in about 30
years and even closer a decade later. On the way, some very
interesting insights into near-Earth asteroid dynamics were
highlighted. By the time you read this, more observations of
the object have likely been obtained and the detailed
predictions may have changed. But unlike 1997 FX11, of 1998
notoriety, you are unlikely to have heard of it: A draft paper
on these results was circulated and thoroughly discussed in
the NEO community without anyone trying to create a sensation
(although the potential victims of such a sensation were kept
informed), a quite gratifying experience from a GS viewpoint.
From the debate, three useful general lessons emerged: (i):
With the recent great increase in the intensity of NEO
searches, similar objects will likely be found every few
months; (ii): When decades are available for follow-up
observations and refinement of the orbital elements,
eliminating the great majority of initially ominous objects,
sensational early alerts are pointless, and (iii): near-Earth
asteroids may show very interesting dynamical effects which
must be carefully considered in planning any future mitigation
measures in case a really dangerous object were to be found.
On other matters, Don Wentzel and I visited Morocco for
several days in early march, formalising an agreement to start
up a series of educational activities under the TAD programme
in that country, with Universit‚ Hassan II in Casablanca as
the focus. During that time, we met most of the astronomy
groups and many very helpful people, and we are hopeful that,
through this programme, the IAU shall be able to help
stimulating the growth of professional astronomy in Morocco.
The following week, J. Mattei (AAVSO), S. Larsen (Copenhagen
Univ.) and I attended the 8th UN/ESA Workshop on Basic Space
Science in Mafraq, Jordan, which focused on Astronomical
Research and Education with Small Telescopes. The workshop was
an inspiring experience, far in style from the standard IAU
meeting. It demonstrated the presence in the region of a
number of brilliant, but isolated scientists whom the IAU
could help with contacts and communications, and I hope that
some of these will join the IAU as members next year. It also
left us with a strong impression of the warm hospitality and
chilling circumstances of our colleagues and hosts, struggling
to survive, scientifically and literally, in this troubled
region of the world.
2. MAIN DEADLINES IN 1999-2000
| Date | Action Item | By |
|---|---|---|
| 1999: | ||
| 18 Jun | 72nd Meeting of the Executive Committee | EC |
| 26 Jun | World Science Confererence begins in Budapest | UNESCO, ICSU |
| 01 Jul | Notify 2000 Meeting proposers (Symp, Coll, JD) | AGS+GS |
| 19 Jul | UNISPACE III conference begins in Vienna | UN-COPUOS |
| 01 Sep | Submit Preliminary Programmes for GA Symp., JDs | SOC chairs |
| 01 Oct | Camera-ready manuscripts due for "Reports on Astronomy" | Div+Comm. Pres. |
| 01 Oct | Preliminary Announcement of GA XXIV (= IB 85) | GS/GA-LOC |
| 01 Oct | Contributions due to Inf. Bull. 86 (January 2000) | All interested |
| 07 Nov | Submit Budget for 2001-2003 to Adhering Organizations | GS |
| 07 Nov | Proposals by Division Presidents for new Members | Division Presidents |
| 07 Dec | Remind Adhering Organizations to propose new Members | GS |
| 2000: | ||
| 07 Feb | Submit Resolutions with financial implications | A.O.s, Div, Comm |
| 15 Feb | Submit Abstracts to Symposium/JD SOCs | Participants |
| 15 Feb | Submit Symposium Travel Grant applications to SOC's | Participants |
| 15 Feb | Submit GA Travel Grant applications to General Secr. | Participants |
| 01 Mar | Recommendation to AGS on Symposium Travel Grants | SOC chairs |
| 07 Mar | Proposals by Adhering Organizations for new Members | Adhering Org. |
| 07 Mar | Propose Items for Agenda of GA XXIV | Adhering Org. |
| 15 Mar | Proposals due for Meetings in 2001 (Symp & Coll) | SOC chairs |
| 01 Apr | Contributions due to Inf. Bull. 87 (June 2000) | All interested |
| 01 Apr | Notify all Symposium and/or GA Travel Grant Applicants | GS/AGS |
| 01 May | Deadline for Early Registration at GA | Participants |
| 07 May | Submit Resolutions without financial implications AO, | Div, Comm. |
| 06 Aug | 73rd Meeting of the Executive Committee | EC |
| 07 Aug | Beginning of first GA Symposia | EC |
| 09 Aug | Opening Session of GA XXIV | SOC chairs |
| 16 Aug | Closing Session of GA XXIV | EC |
| 17 Aug | 74th Meeting of the Executive Committee | EC |
| 19 Aug | End of last GA Symposia | SOC chairs |
3. THE XXIVTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Preparations for the XXIVth General Assembly in Manchester are proceeding apace. Activities will be centred on the University of Manchester, an extensive campus located one mile south of the city centre. Accommodation covering a wide range of tastes has been booked. A choice of hotel accommodation near the University and in the city centre is available. Budget standard accommodation is available in student halls of residence and in addition there is superior accommodation with rooms with ensuite facilities (private bath/shower and toilet). All residence hall accommodation is in single rooms; delegates bringing partners and families may wish to use the hotels.
An extensive social programme is being organized. We are planning a Welcome reception, sponsored by the Royal Astronomical Society. Visits will be available to historic houses such as Haworth, the home of the Brontës, and Chatsworth, the Cavendish family seat. Weekend tours include the Lake District (Wordsworth) and Stonehenge. Tours to the Jodrell Bank 250 ft telescope will also be a feature of the programme.
E-mail facilities will be available for delegates. 60 terminals have been booked in the Physics Department of the University. These are intended as a medium for communication rather than for the use of large work packages.
The LOC provides the facilities for the GA. The scientific programme is the responsibility of the IAU Executive Committee. The LOC assists with local arrangements to ensure that the scientific programme runs smoothly.
The arrangements for registration and booking of accommodation will be by a Conference Organizer appointed for the GA. More information on these topics will be given in the Preliminary Announcement (IB 85) on 1 October 1999, and on the Web.
4. NEWS FROM DIVISIONS AND COMMISSIONS
The Division II OC has been occupied in the last few months
with preparing a solid program for the General Assembly and
its connected meetings in the year 2000. Two proposals were
received for 1-day Joint Discussions, and one for a 3-day
Symposium, all to be held in Manchester, in August 2000. A
proposal for a Colloquium to be held in December, 2000 has
also been proposed. Besides these events for which we are
acting as the coordinating Division, we are also acting in a
supporting capacity for two other proposals, one for a JD, and
another for a Symposium, coordinated by other Divisions and
Commissions. All these proposals have now been processed by
the Div II OC, and final choices will be made by the Executive
Committee in the near future. Thanks to all the participants
in the various proposals for your efforts - you will be
notified in June of the EC decisions.
Division XI Space and High Energy Astrophysics (Willem Wamsteker)
Following the short report on Space activities of interest to
the IAU membership in general in IB 83, Division XI will try
to keep this information service up. As before, any
inaccuracies in the listing below are the full responsibility
of the Division President. To avoid exponential growth we
supply only changes in the situation with respect to the
previous report. Thus, for a complete overview of current
space astrophysics, please combine the information here with
that in IB 83. The Divisional Web Page will maintain a more
complete listing in the future.
Space Astrophysics news
SOHO recovered
HST servicing mission scheduled
ROSAT turned off
FUSE launch date: 27 May 1999 from Cape Canaveral
CLUSTER launch dates set
DEEP SPACE 1 launched
XMM
ABRIXAS launched
CHANDRA (AXAF) launch rescheduled again
HETE II launch scheduled
INTEGRAL launch scheduled
SWAS launched
Mars Climate Orbiter launched
Mars Polar Lander launched
WIRE failed after launch
Commission 6
Annual Report of the Central Bureau for Astronomical
Telegrams, 1998
The rate of publication of the IAU Circulars continues to
increase, the 278 issued in 1998 - five more than in 1997 -
representing another record. As in other recent years, the
main reason for the increase has been the great number of
discoveries of supernovae and comets. Some 56 percent of the
Circulars issued contained items on supernovae, while 47
percent contained items on comets.
In addition to the 158 supernovae reported in 1998 data during
the year, there were also reports of 29 supernovae from images
obtained in 1997 and earlier. Fully one-quarter of the
supernovae were fainter than mag 22.5 at discovery, with two
of them recorded at mag 26.8. Three supernovae - 1998S in NGC
3877, 1998aq in NGC 3982 and 1998bu in NGC 3368 - attained mag
12 visually, and the first of these was the single most
popular topic during the year, with observations of it
reported on 19 different Circulars.
As for comets, even excluding the five predicted recoveries of
periodic comets and the five belated discoveries from images
obtained in 1997, the remaining 46 handsomely broke the
previous annual record. The five belated discoveries were
obtained with the LASCO white-light coronographs aboard the
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, and SOHO
was responsible for 16 additional comets found before the
temporary failure of the mission in June. All but two of these
SOHO comets appear to have been members of the Kreutz
sungrazing group that did not survive perihelion passage. One
of the exceptions, C/1998 J1, is the only SOHO comet to be
observed subsequently from the ground, and this was the second
most popular topic of the year, with mention on 12 Circulars.
The ground-based data revealed a fundamental flaw in the
positions obtained from SOHO - and thus with the orbital
solutions. Toward the end of 1998 a start was made on
rectifying this problem and revising the earlier results. As
noted in the report of the Minor Planet Center, 16 comets were
also credited to the "LINEAR" program: in addition, an
apparently asteroidal object found by LINEAR could be
identified with an "asteroid" observed at Turku in 1939 having
an apparently cometary orbit, and the eventual recognition of
a coma and tail has now allowed the object to be classified as
comet 139P/Väisälä-Oterma.
Four galactic novae and ten gamma-ray bursters were reported
during the year. Although one of the gamma-ray bursters was
discussed on as many as ten Circulars, coverage was down
considerably from the previous year, thanks to the "GCN"
alerts on these objects that are being issued by the NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center.
The two new, faint, distant, satellites of Uranus, the
discovery and initial follow-up of which were recorded on IAU
Circulars last year, were recovered in 1998, and the
determinacies of their orbits were improved by the recognition
of observations on a pair of nights in 1984. The brighter
satellite was found to have an eccentric orbit with a period
of 3.5 years, the longest for any known satellite in the solar
system.
Although it was the subject of only three Circulars, the most
"notorious" event of the year was the announcement, on March
11, that the asteroid 1997 XF11 would pass close - perhaps
extremely close - to the earth in 2028. As has been noted
many times, the possibility of an approach to only tens of
thousands of kilometers was a valid deduction from orbital
elements published five days earlier by the Minor Planet
Center from a three-month arc of observations. The purpose of
the announcement was to draw attention to the need for further
observations of the object, which was largely being ignored.
Unfortunately, the announcement was misunderstood by some as
indicating that there was a significant probability (perhaps
0.1 percent or more) that the object would strike the earth in
2028; and a simultaneous message in the World Wide Web,
improperly described as some kind of "official press release"
by the IAU, did nothing to dispel this belief. The main point
of the WWW message was to provide ephemerides to allow a
search for past observations of the object, and indeed, such
observations from 1990 were rapidly forthcoming as a result.
These observations showed that 1997 XF11 would clearly pass at
more than twice the distance of the moon, the initial
suggestion that passage within the moon's distance was
"virtually certain" having arisen from the hasty use of a 1-
sigma error estimate, rather than an appropriately larger
value.
The "free" distribution of the Circulars in the WWW has meant
that the number of subscribers to the printed edition has
continued to fall, from 365 in January to 336 in December. As
noted in the report of the Minor Planet Center, the decrease
in the number of subscribers to the Computer Service, while
understandable, is also cause for concern, given the Bureau's
strong dependence on subscriptions for supporting a staff
(about 1.5 people) that is at least available for action 14 or
more hours a day and seven days a week. As in recent years,
most of the Circulars in 1998 were prepared by Bureau
Associate Director Daniel Green, with backup from the
undersigned. Responsibility for the administrative work of the
Bureau has rested mainly with Muazzez Lohmiller, together with
Donna Thompson through July. Gareth Williams continued very
effectively to maintain the Bureau's presence on the WWW (URL
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html).
Commission 20
Note: The web address of Comm. 20 is:
http://www.astro.uu.se/IAU/c20 (error in IB 83, p. 6)
Annual Report of the Minor Planet Center, 1998
The number of pages of Minor Planet Circulars (MPCs) issued,
2368, was again very slightly less than in the preceding year,
but this needs to be augmented by the 3028 pages of the Minor
Planet Circulars Supplement (MPSs), a new series introduced in
October 1997 to include the actual observations, which are now
only summarized in the MPCs themselves. More than 70 percent
of the MPCs therefore now refer to orbital computations,
including the documentation of new numberings of minor
planets. The 1701 new assignments of permanent numberings in
1998 is well over twice the previous record of 758 attained in
1997. Furthermore, the number of objects given provisional
designations in a single halfmonth exceeded the previous
record on no fewer than five occasions during 1998, sending
the subscripted numerals beyond 100 for the first time. The
record subscript reached, in the second half of September,
164, which translates into the multiple-night detection of
more than 4100 objects that were not immediately identifiable.
The total of Minor Planet Electronic Circulars (MPECs) issued,
743, was also more than twice as many as ever before. The main
reason for this increase is the "Daily Orbit Update" (DOU)
MPEC that lists all the orbits computed and identifications
found since the previous issue. Nevertheless, even if these
340 DOU issues are excluded - they do normally appear seven
days a week, but there is an interruption for a few days each
month while the MPCs are being prepared - there is a 34-
percent increase over the previous record year of 1997.
Subtraction of the DOU issues during the second halves of
September and November still leaves more "traditional" MPECs,
33 and 31, respectively, than in any halfmonth in a previous
year.
The principal reason for the tremendously increased activity
in 1998 has been the enormous success of the M.I.T. Lincoln
Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program,
which "almost overnight" in March resulted in a fivefold
increase in the production rate of observations. Although this
increase meant the addition of 55 new "potentially hazardous
asteroids" to the 104 known at the end of 1997 (accumulated
since 1932), it obviously applied also to the data on main-
belt objects. The LINEAR program also yielded at least 16 new
comets in 1998. This number is undoubtedly an underestimate,
because the short exposures used by LINEAR mean that comets
are generally not recognized as such. Cometary nature
therefore needs to be established by other observers. In this
connection, "The NEO Confirmation Page" (NEOCP), maintained by
the Minor Planet Center on the World Wide Web, has proven very
valuable, because it is a place where objects whose motion
(even on a single night) suggests NEO status are immediately
placed, in the hope that observations obtained by others as a
result will confirm this status. Since such observations are
likely to show whether or not an object is cometary, the Minor
Planet Center also sometimes uses the NEOCP for objects it
suspects (either from an orbit determination or from a
tentative report by an observer) to be comets.
One area where activity was down during 1998 involved the
transneptunian objects (TNOs or KBOs or EKOs), with only 15
new such objects actually reported during the year (four of
them on images obtained during 1997). However, many
additional TNOs from 1998 images were reported during the
first part of 1999, making 1998 therefore a record year for
actual designations of TNO discoveries - a record undoubtedly
to be broken in 1999. Of much more concern is the slow rate of
second-opposition recoveries, which are essential for anything
remotely resembling an orbit "determination". There were only
five of these during 1998, yielding a total of 45 multiple-
opposition TNOs (including Pluto). The most significant TNO
development during the year was the recognition (in one case
only when observations extended to a third opposition) of what
appear to be the first two cases of TNOs in 1:2 resonance with
Neptune.
The number of subscriptions to the printed MPCs fluctuated
between 204 and 220 during the year. Although the printed
MPSs were also distributed to about a dozen subscribers for
most of the year, the expense of this mailing is not
inconsiderable, and those who want these printed pages are now
asked to obtain the MPSs by file-transfer-protocol as
subscribers to the Extended Computer Service (ECS). Although
there was a general increase, from 47 to 60, in the number of
ECS subscribers during the year, the continuing general
decrease in the number of subscribers to the MPCs, and even an
indication now that the number of subscribers to the regular
Computer Service (shared with the Central Bureau for
Astronomical Telegrams) is showing a decline from the peak of
602 in mid-1997, is taking its toll on the Minor Planet
Center's financial resources. A grant from the U.S. National
Aeronautics and Space Administration during 1998 was therefore
very much appreciated, as was the reinstatement of the annual
subvention from the IAU. There is clearly a problem, however,
in that a sudden fivefold increase in workload has occurred
for a small staff (about 1.5 people) that is already grossly
overworked and needs to be augmented. Despite this, some users
have been urging a more rapid dissemination of observations,
an act that would be ill-advised before the data have been
fully checked. Nevertheless, starting in April, it was agreed
to incorporate the observations of new NEOs on the DOU MPECs,
a procedure that seems to be working reasonably
satisfactorily. Anticipating that the fivefold increase would
be permanent, the Minor Planet Center acquired three new
computers, and a person associated with the LINEAR program
provided essential help in getting them on line. It has still
not been possible to make these new computers fully
operational, however, and a situation has developed in that
the urgency of attending to current data has increased the
time spent struggling with the old computers, thereby
preventing the upgrade.
The fivefold increase in activity has been handled almost
single-handedly by Associate Director Gareth Williams, who
also carries out most of the computer programing for the Minor
Planet Center and maintenance of the WWW pages. Syuichi Nakano
has again been the "Liaison in Japan", carefully organizing
the data obtained by several dozen Japanese amateur
astronomers. Susan Russell, of the Russell Mark Group, of
Albany, California, has provided valuable pro bono service
editing the citations for new namings of minor planets; this
is another task that becomes progressively more time-
consuming, as the members of the Division III Small Bodies
Names Committee will attest. Timothy B. Spahr assisted
operations for a while during the summer. Donna Thompson and
Muazzez Lohmiller attended to the accounts and mailings, the
latter having sole responsibility for these following the
resignation of the former in July. As in the past, Billy
Duggan oversaw the printing, collating and stapling of the
MPCs (and, for much of the year, the MPSs) in the SAO's print
shop.
5. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The 72nd EC meeting will take place at Universidad de Chile,
Santiago, Chile, June 18-20, 1999. Arrangements for the 24th
General Assembly will be the main item on the agenda. The 73rd
and 74th EC meetings will be held in conjunction with the 24th
General Assembly.
6. SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS IN 1999
IAU Symposium 196 Preserving the Astronomical Sky
IAU Symposium 197 Astrochemistry: From Molecular Clouds to Planetary Systems
IAU Symposium 198 The Light Elements and their Evolution
IAU Symposium 199 The Universe at Low Radio Frequencies
6.2 Future IAU Colloquia
IAU Colloquium 175 The Be Phenomenon in Early-Type Stars
IAU Colloquium 176 The Impact of Large-Scale Surveys on Pulsating Star
Research
IAU Colloquium 177 Pulsar Astronomy - 2000 and Beyond
IAU Colloquium 178 Polar Motion: Historical and Scientific Problems
IAU Colloquium 179 Cyclical Evolution of Solar Magnetic Fields: Advances in
Theory and Observations
6.3 Special Education Workshop
7. THE IAU ARCHIVES 1919-1970
The status of the IAU Archives was described in IB83. We are
still missing the following volumes of the IAU Transactions:
Nos. I (1922), V (1935), and XIIIA (1967). Any donations from
readers will be much appreciated.
8. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
The primary educational activities of the IAU are the exchange
programme operated by Commission 38 (see below) and the
International Schools for Young Astronomers (ISYA) and
Teaching for Astronomy Development (TAD) programmes organised
by Commission 46. Partial support for these activities from
ICSU and UNESCO is gratefully acknowledged.
8.1. Commission 38: Exchange of Astronomers
Within the budget approved by the Executive Committee,
Commission 38 allocates grants to qualified individuals to
enable them to visit institutions abroad. It is intended, in
particular, that the visitors should have ample opportunity to
interact with the intellectual life of the host institution so
that maximum benefit is derived by both sides. Another
specific objective is that astronomy in the home country
should be enriched after the applicant returns.
Detailed guidelines for these grants and the application
procedures to be followed were published in IB 81 (pp. 37-39)
and are available from the Commission 38 Web page (linked from
the IAU home page). All correspondence related to the
programme should be directed to the President of IAU
Commission 38, with a copy to the Vice-President. For the
current triennium, their addresses are:
8.2. Teaching for Astronomy Development (TAD): Progress Report
Central America: After the
destruction by Hurricane Mitch, the entire 1998 TAD (ICSU)
support for Central America was sent to Honduras in order to
repair the observatory of the National University of Honduras
in Tegucigalpa, and to contribute to upgrading the
observatory's capability to retrieve and analyzing data from
Earth satellites. The observatory and its access to satellite
data has become an essential part of the national
reconstruction. Since Honduras' capability to access the web
and satellite data was first installed by a visiting
astronomer from Spain (with support by ESA), we see here a
very practical benefit of astronomy.
Morocco: The IAU General Secretary
has signed a contract with Université Hassan II in Casablanca
for TAD support of astronomy in Morocco (March 1999). He and
D. Wentzel visited astronomers and relevant national and
international offices in Casablanca, Marrakech and Rabat to
identify TAD and other IAU activities that may support the
growth of Moroccan astronomy.
9. RELATIONS TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
The IAU is continuing to strengthen relations to COSPAR and
the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna, the continued
protection of good observing conditions and joint initiatives
in education being on the top of the list (cf. the jointly
organised Symposium and Educational Workshop at the UNISPACE
III conference in Vienna in July). As part of these
initiatives, D. Wentzel and the GS visited in early March the
UN Regional Educational Centre for Space Science and
Technology in Rabat, Morocco, which showed a most positive and
cooperative spirit. Moreover, three participants supported by
the IAU, including the GS, participated in the 8th UN/ESA
Workshop on Basic Space Science in Mafraq, Jordan, also in
March (see the brief note under "Faits Divers").
The IAU is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Suzanne
Débarbat as the IAU representative to the Comité Consultatif
des Unités (CCU) of the Bureau International des Poids et
Mesures (BIPM).
We are also pleased to inform IAU members that Dr. Nicole
Capitaine has accepted to represent the IAU to the Directing
Board of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and
Astrometry (IVS).
10. MEMBERSHIP
Following a formal application by the Uzbek Academy of
Sciences, the IAU has been pleased to welcome Uzbekistan as an
Associate Member, according to the previously established
policy of automatic elegibility of the Republics of the Former
Soviet Union. An application has also been received to restore
the Associate Membership of Morocco (see IB 81, p. 45), and
also Jordan has now applied to become an Associate Member.
On the background of unfortunate mistakes in the past, the
Secretariat is applying rigorous procedures to confirm any
reports received on the decease of IAU members, if at all
possible through their Adhering Organizations. Nevertheless,
three members whose death was reported in IB 83 (p. 28) or in
IAU Transactions XXXIIIB kindly inform us that this
information is in fact incorrect: Drs. G.C. Joshi, Sadaemon
Kikuchi and Mayank Vahia. We are most pleased to learn that
all three are alive and healthy and look forward to a long and
fruitful continued cooperation with them, but do apologise
most sincerely to them all for this mistake and for any
inconvenience it may have caused them.
The General Secretary regrets to report the following names of
Members whose death has been reported to, and verified by, the
Secretariat since IB 83.:
A major effort is being made by the Secretariat to keep the
membership data base up-to-date. We thank all who sent
information regarding Members or Consultants with erroneous
addresses in response to the list given in IB 83. In many
cases, this information allowed us to "recover" these Members.
However, we still need accurate address information for the
following Members (mail to the addresses below is returned),
and continue to appreciate all possible help from readers.
In some cases, we receive information that a person listed has
left astronomy and should be deleted from the membership file.
We ask correspondents to note that removal of members from the
membership list is only possible either through a written
resignation to the General Secretary, or on the explicit
proposal of the appropriate Adhering Organization, or at the
confirmation of the death of a member. Accordingly, we ask
correspondents to either contact such members and suggest that
they resign from the Union, or the Adhering Organization.
11. PUBLICATIONS
Proceedings of IAU General Assemblies and Symposia are
published as a series by the IAU Publisher, i.e. by Kluwer
for all meetings through 1997 and by the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific for all meetings from 1998 onwards.
Publishers for Proceedings of IAU Colloquia, Regional
Meetings, and Co-Sponsored Meetings are chosen by the
organisers.
Lists of previous IAU meetings and their proceedings are
maintained at the IAU Web site under Scientific Meetings and
IAU Publications. Please report any errors or omissions to
the Secretariat. Especially, our information on some early
Colloquia is still incomplete, and we would appreciate any
additional information that may enable us to complete it.
Moreover, while the Secretariat has a complete set of
Symposium volumes, our collection of Colloquium proceedings
is seriously incomplete. The missing volumes will be
identified in the list posted on the Web, and we shall be
most grateful to readers for any donations of missing books.
Since IB 83, the following Proceedings of IAU sponsored
meetings have appeared: (Kluwer Academic Publishers,
Dordrecht NL)
Highlights of Astronomy Volume XXIIIB
Transactions of the International Astronomical Union
Alphabetical list of members
183 Cosmological Parameters and the Evolution of the Universe
192 The Stellar Content of Local Group Galaxies
Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, USA
ASP Conference Series
Vol 153 Library and Information Services in Astronomy (LISA III)
Vol 154 Cool Stars, Stellar Systems and the Sun
Vol 155 Three Dimensional Structure of Solar Active Regions
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK and Cambridge MA, USA
Cambridge Space Telescope Science Institute Symposium Series
Other Cambridge University Press Books
Cosmological Physics
Hubble Vision: Further Adventures with the Hubble Space Telescope.
The New Solar System
The Physics of Fluids and Plasmas
Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei: An Introduction
Seven Wonders of the Cosmos
Theory of Black Hole Accretion Discs
12. OTHER MEETINGS ON ASTRONOMICAL TOPICS
Division II Sun and Heliosphere (Peter Foukal)
The 72nd meeting of the Executive Committee
6.1 Future IAU Symposia
President: Vice-President:
Dr Morton S. Roberts Dr Richard M West
NRAO ESO
Edgemont Road Karl Schwarzschildstr 2
Charlottesville VA 22903 D 85748 Garching München
USA Germany
Phone: 1 804 296 0233 Phone: 49 89 320 06 276
Fax: 1 804 296 0278 Fax: 49 89 320 2362
Email: mroberts@nrao.edu Email: rwest@eso.org
10.1 National Membership
Beard, David, B Langer, George, Edward
Blitzstein, William Lasker, Barry, M
Bouvier, Pierre Mikhail, Fahmy, I
Edwards, Terry, W McCrea, William,
Geake, John, E O'Leary, Brian, T
Green, Louis, C Oliver, Bernard, M
Herzberg, Gerhard Öhman, Yngve
Hitotsuyanagi, Juichi Pedersen, Olaf
Howse, H, Derek Rydbeck, Olof
Jaschek, Carlos, O R Segal, Irving, E
Kahn, Franz, D Sobolev, V, V
Kapahi, Vijay, K Waldhausen, Silvia
Lagerqvist, Albin Wayman, Patrick, A
Baier, Frank Greenhouse, Sleath, John
Zntrlinst Matthew 6 The Quadrant
Astrophysik Ntl Air/Space Little Earling
Sternwarte Museum Lane
Babelsberg Smithsonian London W5 4EE
Rosa Luxemburg Institution UK
Str 17a MRC 321
D 14482 Potsdam Washington DC Sweet, Peter
Germany 20560 Dept of Physics &
USA Astron
Bolcal, Cetin The University
Physics Dpt Gussmann, E Glasgow G12 8QQ
Univ of Istanbul Zntrlinst UK
University 34452 Astrophysik
34459 Vezneciler Sternwarte Taffara,
Turkey Babelsberg Salvatore
Rosa Luxemburg Via Calza 5bis
Colombi, Stephane Str 17a I 35128 Padova
Cita Mclennan D 14473 Potsdam Italy
Labs Germany
Univ of Toronto Tiersch, Heinz
60 St Georges St. Haser, Leo Zntrlinst
Toronto ON M5S MPE Astrophysik
1A1 Postfach 1603 Sternwarte
Canada D 85740 Garching Babelsberg
Germany Rosa Luxemburg
Cruise, Adrian Str 17a
Rutherford Holloway, Nigel D 14482 Potsdam
Appleton Lab Safety/Reliabilit Germany
Chilbolton Observ y dir
Ditton Park Wigshaw Lane van der Borght,
Slough SL3 9JX Culcheth Rene
UK Warrington WA3 31 The Promenade
4NE Isle of Capri
Domke, Helmut USA Surfers Paradise
Zntrlinst 4217
Astrophysik Malaise, Daniel Australia
Sternwarte DMO Consulting SA
Babelsberg r Varin 141 A Walraven, Th
Rosa Luxemburg B 4000 Liege Box 989850 Orange
Str 17a Belgium Freestate
D 14473 Potsdam South Africa
Germany Mitic, Ljubisa
Astronomical
Observ
Volgina 7
11050 Beograd
Yugoslavia FR
11.1. IAU Symposia
11.2. Other books received