Three countries joined the organisation at this occasion: Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan. The General Assembly also approved 1006 new individual IAU members at its Closing Ceremony, bringing the total to almost 11 000 members.
Four Resolutions were approved by vote at the Closing Ceremony. These included new guidelines for the designations and specifications of optical and infrared filter passbands, the redefinition of the astronomical unit of length, the establishment of an International Near-Earth Object (NEO) early warning system and the restructuring of the IAU Divisions in order to bring them in line with current major research areas in astronomy and enable the IAU to be more involved with education and outreach.
As the first large astronomical meeting in China, this was also a historic occasion for science in Asia, and provided a unique opportunity, especially for young astronomers, to get involved in exchanging ideas, presenting their research and settling their paths in terms of career development.
The General Assembly also fostered many important international collaborations and partnerships (see for instance the IAU press release iau1204 - http://www.iau.org/public_press/news/detail/iau1204/). The president of the Chinese Astronomical Society, Xiangqun Cui, says: "This IAU General Assembly provides us with an opportunity to exchange views extensively with international counterparts. Hopefully, it will promote the development of Chinese astronomy, and provide a platform for international cooperation in astronomy." This aspect was also recognised by the outgoing IAU president, Robert Williams: "This General Assembly was a landmark for Chinese astronomy."
The new IAU President is Norio Kaifu, the new IAU General Secretary Thierry Montmerle, the new Assistant General Secretary Piero Benvenuti and the new IAU President-elect Silvia Torres-Peimbert.
One of the absolute highlights of the meeting was the visit of His Excellency Xi Jinping, the Vice-President of the People's Republic of China. Among the many inspiring words in his speech at the General Assembly were: "Science and technology are the most active, most revolutionary factors in eco-social development. Every grand advancement of human civilisation is closely related to the revolutionary breakthrough in science and technology."
Provided by International Astronomical Union
This Phys.org Science News Wire page contains a press release issued by an organization mentioned above and is provided to you “as is” with little or no review from Phys.Org staff.
