The Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) is the professional body representing astronomersinAustralia. Established in 1966, it is incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory. Membership of the ASA is open to people "capable of contributing to the advancement of astronomy or a closely related field". This means that the members are mainly active professional astronomers and postgraduate students. Some retired astronomers and distinguished amateur astronomers are also members, and several organisations are corporate members of the society. The ASA currently has around 600 members. It publishes a peer-reviewed journal, Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.
At its establishment in 1966, notable astronomer Ben Gascoigne was its first vice-president.[1]
The society currently has four topical interest groups:
The ASA is trustee of the Foundation for the Advancement of Astronomy (FAA), a tax-deductible foundation intended to enhance the ASA's efforts to promote astronomy and related fields in Australia, and to recognise and support excellence in those fields.[4] The purposes of the FAA are very broadly defined, allowing its support of prizes, scholarships, research and facilities.
The ASA sponsors the following prizes and awards:[5]
The ASA's journal is the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA), for which the editor-in-chief is Bryan Gaensler. PASA is an ISI-listed, fully refereed electronic-only journal for new and significant research in astrophysics, and is published on behalf of the society by Cambridge University Press.
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