Related papers: IAU Planet Definition: Some Confusions and Their M…
The past five years has seen a surge in research and innovative ideas for the imaging of extrasolar planets, particular terrestrial ones. We expect that within the next decade a space observatory will be launched with the objective of…
This contribution to the concluding session at IAU Symposium 205 offered comments on some current controversies, including the scientific status of the ''multiverse'' concept and on the prospects for cosmology in the coming decade.
This brief paper summarizes a ``key general review'' with the same title given at the IAU meeting in Rio de Janeiro. The intent of the review talk was to give a broad and well-illustrated overview of recent work on the icy middle and outer…
Brief summaries are given on the following subjects: Radial velocities and exoplanets (Toward Earth-mass planets; Retired A stars and their planets; Current status and prospects); Toward higher radial velocity precision; Radial velocities…
Several different controlled vocabularies have been developed and used by the astronomical community, each designed to serve a specific need and a specific group. The Unified Astronomy Thesaurus (UAT) attempts to provide a highly structured…
The Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork (PLANET) is a worldwide collaboration of astronomers using semi-dedicated European, South African, and Australian telescopes to perform continuous, rapid and precise multi-band CCD photometric…
This is a summary of the `Astronomy Perspective' of the 4th meeting on 'Statistical Challenges in Modern Astronomy' held at Penn State University in June 2006. We comment on trends in the Astronomy community towards Bayesian methods and…
This document describes the current understanding of the IVOA controlled vocabulary for describing astronomical data quantities, called Unified Content Descriptors (UCDs). The present document defines a new standard (named UCD1+) improving…
We review the problems related to the definition and use of the ecliptic in modern astronomy and we discuss whether the concept of an ecliptic is still needed for some specific uses.
The definition of the Galactic coordinate system was announced by the IAU Sub-Commission 33b on behalf of the IAU in 1958. For more than 50 years the definition of the Galactic coordinate system has remained unchanged from this IAU1958…
Most mechanisms proposed for the formation of planets are modified versions of the mechanism proposed for the solar system. Here we argue that, in terms of those planetary systems which have been observed, the case for the solar system…
Armed with an astrolabe and Kepler's laws one can arrive at accurate estimates of the orbits of planets.
The study of planets beyond the solar system and the search for other habitable planets and life is just beginning. Ground-based (radial velocity and transits) and space-based surveys (transits and astrometry) will identify planets spanning…
Prior to the 1990s, speculations about the occurrence of planets around other stars were based only on planet formation theory, observations of circumstellar disks, and the knowledge that at least one seemingly ordinary star had managed to…
Recently, the presence in the literature (also recent) of voluminous discussions about the interpretation of quantum mechanics has been labelled as scandalous. We claim that a weak point of the debate which hosted such a conclusion is a…
In 2018, images were released of a planet being formed around the star PDS 70, offering a tantalizing glimpse into how planets come into being. However, many questions remain about how dust evolves into planets, and astrophysical…
The summary talk of IAU179 'New Horizons from Multi-Wavelengths Sky Surveys', held in Baltimore in August 1996. First I summarize the highlights in different wavelengths as described in the oral presentations. Then I discuss the need for…
Plans are underway to redefine the International System of Units (SI) around 2018. The New SI specifies the values of certain physical constants to define units. This article explains the New SI in a way that could be used to present it to…
We have developed a model for the Earth rotation that gives a good account (data) of the Earth astronomical parameters. These data can be compared with the ones obtained using space-base telescopes. The expansion of the universe has an…
Two decades ago, astronomers began detecting planets orbiting stars other than our Sun, so-called exoplanets. Since that time, the rate of detections and the sensitivity to ever-smaller planets has improved dramatically with several…