IT'S TIME FOR AFRICA!

Cape Town, South Africa – The first week of August will see more than 2,000 professional astronomers from 82 countries gather in Cape Town, South Africa for the world’s largest international meeting of astronomers.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly 2024 will take place in the Mother City from 6-15 August and will be held on the African continent for the first time in the Union’s 105-year history.

Included in its series of firsts, the IAU will also open certain General Assembly sessions to the public, allowing anyone with internet access to watch sessions in pre-recorded or live format on YouTube.

The IAU is an international organisation with a membership of over 12,000 active professional astronomers from more than 100 countries who promote astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation. The IAU is also the recognised authority that classifies and names celestial or astronomical bodies, from the largest objects in space such as the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall to asteroids such as 2024 MK which flew between Earth and its moon on 29 June.

The IAU General Assembly will bring astronomers together to share their work in diverse fields, including how the history of the universe is being rewritten using images from the James Webb Space Telescope, new methods for predicting and discovering planets outside our solar system, efforts to protect dark skies against light pollution, and the use of astronomy around the world to drive development.

The high-profile event will host astronaut Dr Sian Proctor, mission pilot for the first all-civilian orbital mission, Inspiration4, as well as the first African American woman to pilot a spacecraft and the first African American commercial astronaut. Proctor will present a public talk and Q&A at the Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC) from 7:30 – 9:30 PM on Wednesday, 7 August.

Also attending the IAU General Assembly is winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, Dr Brian Schmidt, who led the team which discovered that the expansion of our universe is accelerating. Schmidt will be interviewed during a live broadcast of the “Cosmic Savannah” podcast at the CTICC from 7:30 – 9:30 PM on Wednesday, 14 August.

Other IAU GA events that will be open to the public include:

• The Square Kilometre Array Observatory’s (SKAO) “Shared Sky” astronomy and art exhibition, featuring mixed media artworks from Indigenous artists in Australia and South Africa, at the CTICC during public events;
• Public screenings of “Rising Star”, a full dome and virtual reality film highlighting the South African Large Telescope (SALT) and MeerKAT Radio Telescope, at Iziko Planetarium, Cape Town at various times each day of the General Assembly;
• The official opening of the new South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) Visitor’s Center at the SAAO Headquarters, Cape Town from 11 AM – 1 PM on 5 August;
• “An Evening with NASA”, which will offer the public an opportunity to meet NASA scientists and educators at the CTICC from 7-9 PM on 8 August;
• A Women’s Day Event featuring hands-on activities designed and presented especially for women and girls at the CTICC from 11 AM – 2 PM on 9 August;
• A “Got Talent”-style talent show in which attending astronomers can show off their other talents at the CTICC from 7:30-9:30 PM on 9 August;
• Activities, including stargazing, at the Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront , Cape Town from 4-11 PM on 10 and 11 August;
• A hike up to and stargazing from the top of Cape Town’s iconic Lion’s Head from 4-11 PM on 11 August; and
• the #AfricaLookUp Cultural Exchange Evening, which will celebrate a rich tapestry of cultures and their historic relationship with the skies through diverse artistic expressions including storytelling and dance, at the CTICC from 7 – 11:30 PM on 13 August.

The world’s leading astronomical observatories and space agencies will also be exhibiting at the CTICC throughout the two-week event, including the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the USA’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory, South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), South African National Space Agency (SANSA), South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), and the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO).

The IAU General Assembly is proudly hosted by the National Research Foundation with strong support from the Department of Science and Innovation and African Astronomical Society. Key sponsors include the SKAO, Brand South Africa, NAOJ, the American Institute of Physics, ESA, and the Simons Foundation.

Visit https://astronomy2024.org/ for the full IAU General Assembly 2024 programme or email info@astronomy2024.org for more information about the event.