The Copernicus Foundation for Polish Astronomy ( pl, Fundacja Astronomii Polskiej im. Mikołaja Kopernika) is a Polish scientific
foundation
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cau ...
which aim is to support Polish astronomy by: financing research, founding stipends, propagation of an
astronomical knowledge in the society and activation and stimulation of the astronomical community.
The Copernicus foundation is headquartered in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
, Poland and Prof. Michał Jaroszyński is the chairman of the organization. The Copernicus Foundation is a publisher of an
Acta Astronomica
''Acta Astronomica'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering astronomy and astrophysics. It was established in 1925 by the Polish astronomer Tadeusz Banachiewicz.
Initially, the journal published articles in Latin, later English ...
- a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering astronomy and astrophysics.
History
The organization was founded in May 1990. The first president was Prof.
Marcin Kubiak
Marcin Antoni Kubiak is a Polish astrophysicist, who obtained his professorship title on 25 April 1994. Member of Committee of Astronomy of the Polish Academy of Sciences, a member of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE), co-discover ...
, and the vice-president - dr hab. Tomasz Chlebowski. Long-term chairman of the Board of the Foundation was Prof. Robert Głębocki (from the beginning till his death in 2005).
Activity
The Foundation is involved in both one-time and recurring activities in accordance to its statute. The notable actions include:
* publishing of peer-reviewed scientific journal
Acta Astronomica
''Acta Astronomica'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering astronomy and astrophysics. It was established in 1925 by the Polish astronomer Tadeusz Banachiewicz.
Initially, the journal published articles in Latin, later English ...
of international recognition regarding astronomy and astrophysics, which is indexed in
Science Citation Index
The Science Citation Index Expanded – previously entitled Science Citation Index – is a citation index originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and created by Eugene Garfield. It was officially launched in 1964 ...
* financial support of the Astronomical Olympiad in Poland
* support of annual Youth Astronomical Seminar of Poland (Ogólnopolskie Młodzieżowe Seminarium Astronomiczne)
* financial support of the conference of Use of Small Telescopes (Wykorzystanie małych teleskopów), Kraków-Koninki 2013.
* sponsor of the Software Systems for Astronomy - summer school (7-18 July 2014, Poznań, Poland)
The Foundation participated also in the financial support of many issues:
* stipends for best astronomy students (eg.
Krzysztof Stanek (1991), Andrzej Kudlicki (1994), Przemysław Woźniak (1995) i Arkadiusz Olech (1996))
* build of the Gamma-ray Bursts detectors by Prof. Lech Mankiewicz
"Ach, cóż to był za błysk!"
by Lech Mankiewicz (2012-06-13) (beginnings of the "Pi of the Sky" project).
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
*Ast ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Copernicus Foundation For Polish Astronomy
Scientific organisations based in Poland
Astronomy organizations