Société astronomique de France
Founded | 28 January 1887 |
---|---|
Founder | Camille Flammarion |
Type | Non-profit association |
Purpose | To promote the development and practice of astronomy |
Headquarters | 3, rue Beethoven, Paris 75016, France |
President | Patrick Baradeau |
Website | https://www.saf-lastronomie.com |
The Société Astronomique de France (SAF), the French astronomical society, is a non-profit association in the public interest organized under French law (la loi du 1er juillet 1901). Founded by astronomer Camille Flammarion in 1887, its purpose is to promote the development and practice of astronomy.
Activities and services
Open to all, SAF includes both professional and amateur astronomers as members, from France and abroad.
The Society publishes:
- The monthly magazine l'Astronomie.
- The periodical Observations et Travaux dedicated to the techniques applied by its members and the results they obtained.
SAF organizes:
- Monthly conferences
- Lectures
- Courses of initiation in astronomy
- Regular meetings of its specialized commissions.
The monthly conferences are usually convened in the lecture hall of Agro ParisTech, and the other events are held at SAF headquarters in the 16th arrondissement of Paris).
On a regular basis, SAF offers the opportunity for the public to explore the night sky from two observatories:
- The Observatoire de la Sorbonne in the 5th arrondissement.
- The Observatoire Camille Flammarion in Juvisy-sur-Orge, just to the south of Paris.
The Society has a workshop on optics that also meets at the Observatoire de la Sorbonne.
SAF organizes the yearly astronomical meetings Rencontres Astro Ciel, which allows hundreds of astronomy enthusiasts to get together for two or three weeks under the starry sky of Provence.
The Society also has a extensive library that includes both historical and modern works, and is available for research and consultation.
Commissions
SAF's specialized commissions are:
- Comets
- Cosmology
- Double stars
- History
- Instruments
- Meteors, meteorites and impacts
- Night skies
- Planetary observations
- Planetology
- Radioastronomy
- Sundials
- Sun
History
SAF was first established on 28 January 1887 at 28 rue Serpente, Paris 75006 at l'Hôtel des Sociétés Savantes (Hotel of Learned Societies) and hosted in a room of the Maison de la Chimie at 28 rue Saint-Dominique, Paris 75007.[1]
Past SAF presidents have included Tisserand, Janssen, Poincaré, Danjon and Lyot.[2]
Name | Profession | Years served |
---|---|---|
Camille Flammarion | SAF Founder, astronomer, author | 1887-1889[3] |
Hervé Faye | Astronomer | 1889-1891[4] |
Anatole Bouquet de la Grye | Hydrographic engineer, geographer, astronomer | 1891-1893[5] |
Félix Tisserand | Astronomer | 1893-1895[6] |
Jules Janssen | Astronomer | 1895-1897[7] |
Alfred Cornu | Physicist | 1897-1899[8] |
Octave Callandreau | Physicist | 1899-1901[9] |
Henri Poincaré | Mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, philosopher of science | 1901-1903 [10] |
G. Lippman | 1903-1905 [11] | |
E. Gaspari | Astronomer, hydrographic engineer | 1905-1907 [12] |
H. Deslandres | 1907-1909 [13] | |
B. Baillaud | 1909-1911 [14] | |
Fernand Baldet | Astronomer | 1939-1946 |
Jean Kovalevsky | Astronomer | 1970-1973 |
Jean-Claude Pecker | Astronomer | 1973-1976 |
Bruno Morando | Astronomer | 1976-1979 |
Audouin Dollfus | Astronomer | 1979-1981 |
Philippe de la Cotardière | Writer, science journalist | 1987-1993 |
Roger Ferlet | Astrophysicist | 1997-2001 |
Philippe Morel | 2005-2014 | |
Patrick Baradeau | Historian | 2014–Present |
Today's journal l'Astronomie descends from a series of successive journals associated with SAF (the first one, published by Camille Flammarion, preceded the establishment of SAF by 3 years):
- L'Astronomie, revue mensuelle d'astronomie populaire (1882-1894)
- Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France (1887–1910)
- L'Astronomie : revue mensuelle d'astronomie, de météorologie et de physique du globe et bulletin de la Société astronomique de France (1911-)
- l'Astronomie
Awards and prizes
The society has offered the following awards and prizes over the years to its members and to notable personalities in the world of astrophysical research in France or abroad (many of the these have not been given for many years and are only of historical interest):[15]
- The Prix Jules Janssen for outstanding work in Astronomy
- The Prix des Dames for services to the society
- The Médaille Commémorative
- The Prix Maurice BALLOT
- The Prix Georges BIDAULT de l'ISLE
- The Prix Henry REY
- The Prix Gabrielle et Camille FLAMMARION
- The Prix Dorothea KLUMPKE - Isaac ROBERTS encouraging the study of nebulae
- The Prix Marcel MOYE for young astronomers
- The Prix Marius JACQUEMETTON
- Prix VIENNET - DAMIEN
- Plaquette du Centenaire de Camille FLAMMARION
- Prix Julien SAGET for Astro-photography
- Prix Edmond GIRARD
- Prix CAMUS - WAITZ
- Prix Marguerite CLERC
- Médaille des anciens présidents
- Médaille du Soixantenaire ; Fondation MANLEY - BENDALL
Asteroid (4162) SAF
French astronomer André Patry of the Observatoire de Nice named Asteroid (4162) SAF in the society's honor after he discovered the body on 24 November 1940.[16]
References
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1900, p. 1.
- ↑ Minor Planet Center
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1900, p. 9.
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1900, pp. 9-10.
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1900, p. 10.
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1900, p. 11.
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1900, pp. 11-12.
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1900, p. 12.
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1900, p. 13
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1910, pp. 13-14
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1910, p. 14
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1910, p. 15
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1910, pp. 15-16
- ↑ Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, 1910, p. 16
- ↑ http://www2.saf-lastronomie.com/prixmed.htm
- ↑ Minor Planet Center
External links
Web sites of SAF commissions:
See also
List of astronomical societies
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