The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) was founded in San Francisco in 1889. It has the legal status of a nonprofit organization. This article is about the city in California. ... 1889 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

It is the largest general astronomy society in the world, with members from over 70 countries. Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can still play an active role, especially in the discovery and monitoring of transient phenomena. ...

The society promotes astronomy education, publishing the popular astronomy magazine Mercury. It also publishes the scholarly scientific journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific aimed at professional astronomers.

Awards

The ASP makes several different awards annually:

• The Bruce Medal for lifetime contribution to astronomy research. The medal is named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce.
• The Klumpke-Roberts Award for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy, named for Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts.
• The Amateur Achievement Award in recognition of significant contributions to astronomy by one not employed in the field of astronomy in a professional capacity.
• The Bart Bok Award, named in honor of astronomer Bart Bok, awarded jointly with the American Astronomical Society to outstanding student projects in astronomy at the International Science and Engineering Fair.
• The Thomas Brennan Award for exceptional achievement related to the teaching of astronomy at the high school level.
• The Maria and Eric Muhlmann Award for recent significant observational results made possible by innovative advances in astronomical instrumentation, software, or observational infrastructure.
• The Robert J. Trumpler Award, named in honor of astronomer Robert J. Trumpler, given to a recent recipient of a Ph.D degree with a particularly notable thesis.

The Catherine Wolfe Bruce gold medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. ... Catherine Wolfe Bruce (1816 – 1900) was a noted American patroness of astronomy. ... The Klumpke-Roberts Award was established from a bequest astronomer Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts and recognizes outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ... Bart Jan Bok ( Hoorn, April 28, 1906 – Tucson, August 5, 1983) was a Dutch-American astronomer. ... The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is a US society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The main aim of the AAS is provide a political voice for its members and organise their lobbying. ... The Robert J. Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific is given annually to a recent recipient of the Ph. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ... Robert Julius Trumpler (October 2, 1886 – September 10, 1956) was a Swiss-American astronomer. ...

External link

• ASP website (http://www.astrosociety.org/)