How astronomers focused the scope of their discussions: the formation of the Astronomical Society of Australia

Article


Lomb, Nick. 2015. "How astronomers focused the scope of their discussions: the formation of the Astronomical Society of Australia." Historical Records of Australian Science. 26 (1), pp. 36-57. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR14030
Article Title

How astronomers focused the scope of their discussions: the formation of the Astronomical Society of Australia

ERA Journal ID3482
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorLomb, Nick
Journal TitleHistorical Records of Australian Science
Journal Citation26 (1), pp. 36-57
Number of Pages22
Year2015
Place of PublicationCanberra, Australia
ISSN0727-3061
1448-5508
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1071/HR14030
Web Address (URL)http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR14030.htm
Abstract

Scientific societies provide an important forum for scientists to meet and exchange ideas. In the early days of European settlement in Australia the few people interested in the sciences joined together to form such societies that embraced all their individual disciplines. From 1888 the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science with its different sections allowed a growing number of astronomers to share meetings only with researchers in the closely allied fields of mathematics and physics. Eventually, all three of these groups formed their own societies with the Astronomical Society of Australia being the last in 1966. Archival records are used to illustrate how the formation of the ASA came about and to establish the people involved. The makeup of Australian astronomy at that period and some of its research fields are looked at as well as the debates and discussions in the Society’s first year while its future structure and role were established.

Keywordsearly Australian scientific societies; astronomical conferences in Australia; Australian Mathematical Society; Australian Institute of Physics; National Committee of Astronomy; Astronomical Society of Australia
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020519999. Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Agricultural, Computational and Environmental Sciences
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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