In 1820, the Astronomical Society off London starts to support astronomical research especially developed at the time by enlightened gentlemen. It obtains its current designation, Royal Astronomical Society (R.A.S.), in 1831 when it receives the Royal Charter of the king William IV. Then held to the men, a Supplemental Charter opens the doors of the R.A.S. to the women in 1915. The R.A.S. is member of the U.A.I. (international astronomical Union) and member of the Science Council.

Publications

One of the main activities of the R.A.S. is the publication of reviews of reference. It publishes of them in particular two which is with the very first international plan, MNRAS in astronomy and, in partnership with Deutsche Geophysikalische Gesellschaft, GJI in Géophysique. Below the list of the reviews published by the R.A.S.:

  • Memoirs off the Royal Astronomical Society (MmRAS): 1822 - 1978

  • Monthly Notes off the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS): since 1827
  • Geophysical Supplement to Monthly Notes (MNRAS): 1922 - 1957
  • Geophysical Newspaper (GeoJ): 1958 - 1987
  • Geophysical International Newspaper (GeoJI): since 1988
  • Quarterly Newspaper off the Royal Astronomical Society (QJRAS): 1960 - 1996
  • Astronomy & Geophysics (A&G): since 1997

Members

They are named and authorized to associate acronym “FRAS” (for Fellow off the Royal Astronomy Society ) with their name. Any person of more than 18 years can become member of the R.A.S. As at the time of the foundation there were no professional astronomers, no particular qualification is not asked to integrate this famous organization. However three quarters of the members are professional astronomers or geophysicists. The R.A.S. acts as professional body for the astronomers and the geophysicists and its members can postulate at the entry of Council Science. The R.A.S. counted 3000 members in 2003.

Meetings

The R.A.S. organizes monthly meetings on subjects relating to astronomy and geophysics. They are generally held second Friday of September until June. She also sponsors the National U.K. Astronomy Meeting (Astronomical Meetings of the the United Kingdom) held each spring and various other meetings in the United Kingdom. Jointly with the Geological Society off London (Geological Company of London) she sponsors the British Geophysical Association (British Geophysical Association).

Presidents

The first president of the R.A.S. was William Herschel, but it did not chair any the meetings. Since, the station was occupied by many astronomers. Currently a presidency lasts two years.

; Recent presidents:

; Former famous presidents:

Rewards

The most important reward of the R.A.S. is the Gold medal of Royal Astronomical Society. Albert Einstein (in 1926) and Stephen Hawking (in 1985) is two of the most known member elects of the general public. The R.A.S. also delivers the Médaille Eddington, the Herschel medal, the Chapman medal, the Pricel medal and the Médaille Jackson-Gwilt. The pulpits include/understand the Harold Jeffreys Lectureship in geophysics, the George Darwin Lectureship in astronomy and the Gerald Whitrow Lectureship in Cosmologie.

Other activities

The R.A.S. occupies the buildings of Burlington House with London, where the members have access to a library and conference rooms. The R.A.S. defends the interests of astronomy and geophysics in the United Kingdom like attached to the European governments. It has a Press Office which informs the media and the public of the last projections in astronomy and astrophysics.

External bonds

  • '' Royal Astronomical Society '' - Official site
  • '' Monthly Notes off the Royal Astronomical Society '' (MNRAS)

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