[PDF] China And The International Astronomical Union eBook

Author : Thierry Montmerle
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 27,86 MB
Release : 2022-07-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 3031017870

GET BOOK

Seen from “inside the IAU,” this book tells the in-depth story of a major crisis in which China “divorced” from the International Astronomical Union in 1960 as a protest against the admission of Taiwan. This happened to all the scientific unions at the same time, and to the Olympic Games, which, unexpectedly, would serve as a laboratory for the “reconciliation” which took place following the re-opening of China to the world 20 years later. The so-called “China conflict” is the most important crisis in the post-WWII history of the IAU. Yet, many details about this conflict and its links to broader geopolitical events have long remained unsettled, obscure, or altogether absent. In particular, the book describes for the first time the “separation” period, which covered the Cultural Revolution, and in which the IAU made desperate official efforts to reach out to China, while some groups of Western and Chinese astronomers managed to keep contact at times. On the occasion of the IAU Centenary celebrations in 2019, the book revisits this painful succession of events using unpublished documents from the IAU Archives and the International Council of Scientific Unions. The book also contains supplementary typescripts of selected handwritten correspondences and the full translation of key original Chinese documents unknown to readers outside China. What emerges is a complex and fascinating story of human relations and science diplomacy under the shadow of the Cold War. Readers will learn how the 20-year “China conflict” as lived by astronomers and scientists is important not only for the history of the IAU, but also for the history of contemporary China. “This book is full of so many original documents of the IAU office, very reliable and good to open to the public readers.” Shuhua Ye, Shanghai Observatory (IAU Vice-President, 1988-1994) This book is a companion book to "Astronomers as Diplomats," published at the same time in the same series.

Author : Johannes Andersen
Publisher : Springer
Page : 375 pages
File Size : 12,62 MB
Release : 2019-02-20
Category : Science
ISBN : 331996965X

GET BOOK

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) was founded in 1919, in the wake of the First World War, together with its sister Unions in related natural sciences. It will thus turn 100 years in 2019. Written by a mixed team of insiders and outsiders, this book presents the IAU in the changing context of the historical, scientific and technological development of astronomy during the past 100 years. While much important scientific progress took place already before 1945, the book naturally focuses on the accelerating evolution during the second half of the century. In the past few decades, the previously narrow IAU focus on organising professional astronomy has broadened to include societally relevant activities such as addressing the hazard of asteroid impacts, the planetary status of Pluto in the Solar System, and the hugely successful International Year of Astronomy. Most recently, it is spearheading a combination of science literacy and public outreach. The book will be of interest to professional astronomers as well as an astronomically interested general audience. The book features live personal interviews with as many of the key actors as still possible.

Author : Adriaan Blaauw
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 45,54 MB
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9401109788

GET BOOK

This History has its origin in a suggestion, made in September 1990 by former IAU General Secretary Derek McNally, who felt "that a 75 year history of the Union was needed before the col lective memory of those who knew the Union before the Second World War vanished. It would then be a preparatory volume to a centennial history in 2019. " Indeed, of those who knew the Union that long ago, few are still with us. Six years ago, at Baltimore on August 2, 1988, listening and reminiscing at the Inaugural Ceremonies of the Union's 20th General Assembly, I realized that it was almost exactly half a century ago that, at the age of 24, I attended the Inaugurations at my "first" Assembly: on August 3, 1938 in Stockholm. Now, in 1994, this is almost 56 years ago, three quarters of the Union's age. Only vague recollections - no better than that -lead me back to this event, just before World War II. And so, this is not a history based on recollection, far from it. Recollection was helpful in that it allowed me, better perhaps than a younger author, to appreciate circumstances under which the letters and reports which form the basis for this History were written. The account is largely based on archival documents, collected from a wide variety of sources.

Author : Thierry Montmerle
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,86 MB
Release : 2022
Category : Astronomy
ISBN : 9788303101785

GET BOOK

Seen from "inside the IAU," this book tells the in-depth story of a major crisis in which China "divorced" from the International Astronomical Union in 1960 as a protest against the admission of Taiwan. This happened to all the scientific unions at the same time, and to the Olympic Games, which, unexpectedly, would serve as a laboratory for the "reconciliation" which took place following the re-opening of China to the world 20 years later. The so-called "China conflict" is the most important crisis in the post-WWII history of the IAU. Yet, many details about this conflict and its links to broader geopolitical events have long remained unsettled, obscure, or altogether absent. In particular, the book describes for the first time the "separation" period, which covered the Cultural Revolution, and in which the IAU made desperate official efforts to reach out to China, while some groups of Western and Chinese astronomers managed to keep contact at times. On the occasion of the IAU Centenary celebrations in 2019, the book revisits this painful succession of events using unpublished documents from the IAU Archives and the International Council of Scientific Unions. The book also contains supplementary typescripts of selected handwritten correspondences and the full translation of key original Chinese documents unknown to readers outside China. What emerges is a complex and fascinating story of human relations and science diplomacy under the shadow of the Cold War. Readers will learn how the 20-year "China conflict" as lived by astronomers and scientists is important not only for the history of the IAU, but also for the history of contemporary China. "This book is full of so many original documents of the IAU office, very reliable and good to open to the public readers." Shuhua Ye, Shanghai Observatory (IAU Vice-President, 1988-1994) This book is a companion book to "Astronomers as Diplomats," published at the same time in the same series.

Author :
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 48,35 MB
Release :
Category : Astronomy
ISBN :

GET BOOK

The Chinese Astronomical Society (CAS), located in Nanjing, China, was organized in 1922 for promoting the advancement in astronomical research and popularizing the astronomical knowledge. The CAS is a member organization of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Information about the activities, publications, history, and members of the society is available.

Author : Thierry Montmerle
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 524 pages
File Size : 20,73 MB
Release : 2022-07-08
Category : Science
ISBN : 303098625X

GET BOOK

This book illuminates a few highly significant events in history in which astronomers have helped keep contacts between astronomers of different states in moments of international political tensions or even crises. The chapters, written by 20 international authors, focus on four periods where astronomers were particularly active in international relations: 1. The WWI period, the epoch of the creation of the IAU, in the context of the simultaneous creation of other scientific unions. The book also singles out the important role of A.S. Eddington and his network “across forbidden borders”. 2. The Cold war period and its consequences, when several countries were divided between opposite blocs. “The China crisis” is told here from different viewpoints by Chinese astronomers, both from the mainland and from Taiwan, in parallel with the evolution of astronomy in South and North Korea. Germany’s twisted path in its membership of the IAU, from its admission in 1951 to its reunification in 1991 is shown as another example. 3. The book then highlights a third period, when radio astronomers, in particular, were very active in “building bridges” between East and West. It also tells the history of how the apparently innocuous issue of the “lunar nomenclature” became extremely sensitive. The part ends on two chapters on Russian robotic missions and lunar surface features as well on the Russian participation in the “International Virtual Observatory” project. 4. The fourth part reports for the first time on the “hidden story” of the relations between the IAU and the United Nations after the “Moon race” when the United Nations decided to challenge the IAU’s authority on “extraterrestrial names”. The final chapter reviews how twenty years later UNESCO and the IAU had become strong partners in the difficult, but highly successful organization of the International Year of Astronomy (2002-2009), and of the “Astronomy and World Heritage” intitiative (2008).

Author : S.M. Ansari
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 24,7 MB
Release : 2013-06-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 9401598622

GET BOOK

Proceedings of the Joint Discussion-17 at the 23rd IAU General Assembly, organised by the Commission 41, held in Kyoto, Japan, August 25-26, 1997

Author : Thierry Montmerle
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 32,61 MB
Release : 2015-09-03
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781107078833

GET BOOK

These Transactions provide a record of the formal organisational and administrative proceedings of the IAU XXVIII General Assembly which took place in Beijing, China, in August 2012. They include the admission of new members, the Resolutions passed, and an account of the regular Business Meetings of the Executive Committee and the Divisions, Commissions and Working Groups. Of particular note, a new divisional structure for the IAU was approved and a new Division on 'Education, Outreach and Heritage' created. Also included in this volume is the welcome address given by Xi Jinping, then Vice-President and now President of the People's Republic of China. Over 3200 registered attendees enjoyed a rich scientific programme of 8 Symposia, 7 Joint Discussions and 18 Special Sessions. Proceedings of the IAU Symposia are published in a separate series, and those of the Invited Discourses, Joint Discussions and Special Sessions feature in Highlights of Astronomy, Volume 16.