Press Release in English, April 6, 2006
26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague
The Astronomical Union (IAU) is a prestigious international scientific society, uniting about nine thousand outstanding professional astronomers of all the world. It was founded in 1919, and former Czechoslovakia became its member at its 1st General Assembly in 1922 that was held in Rome. Since then, the General Assemblies take place in three-year intervals, with the exception of World War II. They can be compared to Olympic Games in sport – top astronomers from member countries assemble for two weeks at a place of venue to evaluate what new occurred in astronomy during the preceding three years, to demonstrate their most recent discoveries and observations, and also to organize international cooperation in the fields where it is desirable and necessary.
In August this year Prague will become only the third city in the world that was chosen to host the astronomical assembly for the second time in history - after Rome, only Sydney belonged to this extra class. Prague was proud to host the 13th IAU General Assembly in 1967, when Czech astronomer Dr. Luboš Perek, so far the only Czech in such a high position, was elected the General Secretary of the IAU, and when the largest Czech astronomical telescope (Zeiss 2-meter reflector) was inaugurated.
Now, after 39 years, the IAU General Assembly returns back to Prague. This decision reflects the reputation of the Czech astronomy that will also be given an important gift – the Czech Republic will become a member country of the prestigious Southern European Observatory (ESO) whose director general Prof. Catherine Cesarsky, as the very first woman astronomer in the history, will be elected the president of the IAU.
