“United Nations” of astronomy to meet in Sydney, Australia, in July

More than 1600 astronomers from around the world will meet in Sydney, Australia, during 13-26 July at the 25th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.

The International Astronomical Union is the world’s largest professional body for astronomers, representing almost 8700 people from 66 countries. Run once every three years, the General Assembly is one of the largest and most diverse meetings on the astronomical community’s calendar.

More than 1600 people have registered for the Sydney event. The list of registrants is available on request.

Registration is free for accredited media attending the meeting. (See www.astronomy2003.com registration media registration.) A media work room and interview areas will be provided. If you are attending, please register online before the event.

The General Assembly is divided into a number of meetings running in parallel. Together they cover almost the whole field of astronomy, from dark matter in galaxies and astronomy from the Moon to the challenges of ultra-large optical telescopes. The complete program can be found on the meeting website, www.astronomy2003.com.