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 make contributions in doing citizen science, such as by monitoring variable stars, double stars, sunspots, or occultations of stars by the Moon or asteroids, or by discovering transient astronomical events, such as comets, galactic novae or supernovae in other galaxies.
The International Astronomical Union is a non-governmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and development through global cooperation. It was founded in 1919 and is based in Paris, France.
Bohdan Paczyński or Bohdan Paczynski was a Polish astronomer notable for his theories and work in the fields of stellar evolution, accretion discs, and gamma ray bursts. He is the recipient of the Eddington Medal (1987), the Henry Draper Medal (1997), the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1999), and the Order of Polonia Restituta (2007).
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is an American scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889, immediately following the solar eclipse of January 1, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world. It has the legal status of a nonprofit organization.
The Polish Press Agency is Poland's national news agency, producing and distributing political, economic, social, and cultural news as well as events information. It was founded in 1918 as Polish Telegraphic Agency (PAT).
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) is a national, non-profit, charitable organization devoted to the advancement of astronomy and related sciences. At present, there are 30 local branches of the Society, called Centres, in towns and cities across the country from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia, and as far north as Whitehorse, Yukon. There are about 5100 members from coast to coast to coast, and internationally. The membership is composed primarily of amateur astronomers and also includes numerous professional astronomers and astronomy educators. The RASC is the Canadian equivalent of the British Astronomical Association.
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 publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia nova in the 17th century. The Year was declared by the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations. A global scheme, laid out by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), was also endorsed by UNESCO, the UN body responsible for educational, scientific, and cultural matters.
The Associazione Friulana di Astronomia e Meteorologia is a non-profit cultural association whose goal is the promotion of astronomy and meteorology to the public and the development of scientific research activities, often in collaboration with professional scientists.
In 2011, Chile was home to 42% of the world's astronomical infrastructure, consisting principally of telescopes. In 2015, it was estimated that Chile would contain more than 50% of the global astronomical infrastructure by 2030. In the Atacama desert region of northern Chile, the skies are exceptionally clear and dry for more than 300 days of the year. These conditions have attracted the world's scientific community to develop highly ambitious astronomical projects in the Atacama desert.
Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering theoretical, observational, and instrumental astronomy and astrophysics. It is operated by an editorial team under the supervision of a board of directors representing 27 sponsoring countries plus a representative of the European Southern Observatory. The journal is published by EDP Sciences and the current editors-in-chief are Thierry Forveille and João Alves.
Andrzej Jarosław Udalski is a Polish astronomer and astrophysicist, and director of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw. He is also head of the Department of Observational Astrophysics at Astronomical Observatory, the head and project manager of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment, and editor of the quarterly journal Acta Astronomica.
The Society for the History of Astronomy is an organisation based in the United Kingdom that promotes research into the history of astronomy. It publishes a research journal called The Antiquarian Astronomer and a regular Bulletin.
The Polish Astronomical Society is science society in Poland, founded in 1923, with headquarters in Warsaw. Members of PTA are professional astronomers. Purpose of the association is promoting the development of astronomical science, their teaching and outreach in community. PTA is involved in publishing astronomical books, as well as popular science magazine Urania - Postępy Astronomii. PTA is also a producer of a TV series Astronarium about astronomy and space. The society organizes conferences and contests. Current President of PTA is Marek Sarna and number of members is around 280. Polish Astronomical Society is a member of the European Astronomical Society.
Asociación Argentina Amigos de la Astronomía is an amateur astronomy civil association based on Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the aim of spreading astronomy. It was founded on January 4, 1929 and its field courses are held on related subjects, research in collaboration with professional bodies and printed publications or multimedia, and recreational activities for the general public. The main-belt asteroid 4756 Asaramas was named in honor of the observatory.
The Jodcast is a bimonthly podcast created by astronomers at Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JBCA), University of Manchester in Manchester, England. It debuted in January 2006, aiming to inspire and inform the public about astronomy and related sciences, to excite young people with the latest astronomy research results, to motivate students to pursue careers in science, and to dispel stereotypes of scientists as incomprehensible and unapproachable.
Astronarium is a Polish documentary and popular science television series about astronomy and space research. The program is produced by the Polish Television and Polish Astronomical Society, with support from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The series premiered on March 2, 2015 on the TVP Regionalna channel. It has been broadcast on various channels in Poland and abroad, including TVP 1, TVP 3, TVP Polonia. The episodes are also available on the internet as a VOD, some of them with English subtitles. The cumulative audience in Poland during the first week of emission of an episode is on the level of 500 000 viewers.
Peter Jalowiczor is an amateur astronomer living in South Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. Jalowiczor is primarily known for co-discovering four exoplanets at home using data released to the public by the University of California's Lick-Carnegie Planet Search Team and conducted research confirming that for the delta effect for comets. He has written four books – two about football and two about Polish servicemen from World War II. He is also the founder of a football club, the Polish Millers.
The Brazilian Astronomical Society is a professional astronomical society in Brazil, founded in 1974.
Agata Różańska is a Polish astronomer and astrophysicist. Research Professor at the field of X-ray astronomy. She works on numerical computations of emission processes in astrophysical X-ray sources and their observations.
