Astronomy in Society and Culture
For a whole week, from 19 till January 2009, Symposium 260 of the International Astronomical Union was held at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Its theme: The Rôle of Astronomy in Society and Culture.
The tremendous progress made by astronomy over the centuries has been followed with much interest by the general public and yet, at the same time, many issues arise in its interactions within our societies. What is the actual rôle of astronomy? The Symposium provided a global, and at the same time detailed, view of the very many activities that link astronomy to our diverse cultures. A most useful start of the International Year of Astronomy!
I have written some more details on a few of the sessions of the symposium:
- Astronomy and Poetry
- Astronomy and Jules Verne
- Light pollution
- Astronomy and technology
- Astronomy and Political Theory
- Of paintings, telescopes, hobbits and astronomy
Finally, I’ll leave you with a set of quotes captured during the conference. Enjoy!
- “An astronomer is more than human, since he lives outside the Earth.”
Jules Verne, France - “Human beings are born astronomers.”
Rajesh Kochhar, India - “Even if the main justification for astronomy is the increase of humankind’s knowledge, one should not forget that astronomy has a large return for public life and for industry.”
Laurent Vigroux, France - “We live in the only epoch of the Universe where we can measure dark energy.”
Lawrence Kraus, USA - “On TV, you don’t dare convey the truth, you want to convey emotions.”
Dominique Leglu, France - “In 1969, we expected that by now, 40 years later, we would have a lunar base and a man walking on Mars, but it didn’t happen. 2001 did not happen, nor did 1984, luckily.”
Martin Rees, UK - “Living in the US in the last 8 years, surely looks like the1984 of Orwell!”
Lawrence Kraus, USA - “Astronomy is one thing, science is another!”
Dominique Leglu, France - “Astronomy is the most effective way to get people into science.”
Bernard Jones (UK) - “Progress is a question that has an answer.”
Catalin Mosoia (Romania)