IAU & Italy Event in Rome

ann19030 — Announcement

Event to celebrate IAU’s 100th anniversary in Rome

14 May 2019

As part of the IAU100 celebrations, high-level officials from the IAU and Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) gathered in Rome yesterday to give speeches about the IAU, Italian astronomy and the Vatican Observatory over the past 100 years. It is also 20 years since the foundation of INAF.

INAF is a national member of the IAU, and the two organisations have frequently collaborated in pursuing their shared goals of progressing astronomy and making it more accessible to wider society. The Vatican Observatory has also made many significant contributions to the progression of astronomy historically. This event commemorated both the centenary of the IAU and the role of Italy in global astronomy.

The event took place in Palazzo Corsini home of the Accademia dei Lincei, the same location where the first IAU General Assembly was held in May 1922, 97 years earlier. Since then, the IAU has grown from 9 member states to encompass 82 National Members and more than 13500 Individual and Junior Members worldwide.

A visit to see Raphael’s Frescoes at the Villa Farnesina completed the programme of the event.

The 103rd meeting of the IAU Executive Committee will also take place in Rome during the same week.

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together more than 13 500 professional astronomers from more than 100 countries worldwide. Its mission is to promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.