Federation of Astronomical Societies
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The Federation of Astronomical Societies (FAS) is an international union of
astronomical 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, galaxi ...
societies A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
formed in 1974 and will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024. Its motto is "Supporting UK Astronomy", and there is also one member society from
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. As of November 2021, it has over 200 member societies. FAS publishes a newsletter 6 times a year, which is sent to its member societies, and holds in-person conventions as well as events online. The FAS is run by a council of elected volunteers. A major benefit for local societies is to be able to arrange Public Liability Insurance from a policy which is shared between the members, greatly reducing the policy fee.


Conventions

The FAS on-line convention in April 2021 was addressed by Lord
Martin_Rees Martin John Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: (born 23 June 1942) is a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He is the fifteenth Astronomer Royal, ...
, the UK Astronomer Royal. Another speaker was George Tahu, the Lead Program executive for
Mars_2020 Mars 2020 is a Mars rover mission forming part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program that includes the rover '' Perseverance'', the small robotic, coaxial helicopter '' Ingenuity'', and associated delivery vehicles. Mars 2020 was launched from ...
, speaking from Washington, D.C. The Autumn 2021 Convention was the first national in-person astronomy event in the UK since 2019, due to COVID. It took place at th
National Space Centre
in Leicester on Saturday 13 November. The 2022 convention was on 12 November in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. The theme was "Women In Astronomy" — the keynote speaker was Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell.


See also

*
List of astronomical societies A list of notable groups devoted to promoting astronomy research and education. Africa * African Astronomical Society South Africa *Astronomical Society of Southern Africa Asia China * Chinese Astronomical Society India * Akash Mitra Mandal *A ...


References


External links


The Federation of Astronomical Societies

The Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies (IFAS)
Federations Astronomy organizations Astronomy societies Astronomy in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 1974 {{astronomy-stub