What is the International Astronomical Union (IAU)?
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is an organization which coordinates the work of national astronomy associations along with professional astronomers. The IAU promotes advancement in the science of astronomy, along with protection of astronomy as a scientific field. It is a member organization of the International Council for Science, a group of international scientific organizations which includes the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the International Mathematical Union, among many others. This organization was founded in 1919 with the melding of several astronomy organizations. It is based in Paris, France, and includes individual professional members, most of whom are leaders in the field of astronomy, along with numerous national astronomy organizations. While the bulk of the International Astronomical Union’s work is focused on advancements in professional astronomy, the organization also works with groups which include amateur astronomers among thei
and Why does the IAU still recognize these 88 constellations today? Feel free to check out these sites for information: http://www.iau.org/public_press/themes/constellations/ http://www.slac.stanford.edu/pubs/beamline/27/4/27-4-trimble.pdf http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/21/21.html http://www.iau.org/public_press/themes/buying_star_names/ How you choose to divide up the work is up to each individual group. You might want to split up the research work between two different people. One person might want to research the history of constellations, and compile as much information as they can about why they were thought to be important in the past. The second person may decide to research the International Astronomical Union, find out what it is, and collect as much information as they can about what they do and why they do it. A third person should be designated to collect all of this information and organize it as best they can. This person should use their discretio
