AAS Press Releases
Recent press releases issued by the American Astronomical Society. (If you're looking for press releases from other organizations, see Astronomy in the News.)
AAS Officials Concerned with Proposed Cancellation of WFIRST
14 Feb 2018
AAS President-Elect Megan Donahue and Executive Officer Kevin Marvel are gravely concerned about the administration’s proposed cuts to NASA’s astrophysics budget and the abrupt cancellation of the Wide Field Infrared...
AAS Names Recipients of 2018 Awards and Prizes
10 Jan 2018
At its 231st semiannual meeting near Washington, DC, the American Astronomical Society named the recipients of its 2018 prizes for outstanding achievements in scientific research, instrument development, and writing.
Research Notes of the AAS Are Back and Better Than Ever
30 Oct 2017
The AAS and its publications partner the Institute of Physics (IOP) Publishing announce the return of Research Notes of the AAS (RNAAS) — short communications for the rapid publication and distribution of new and...
AAS Names Scott Bolton as Kavli Foundation Plenary Lecturer
24 Oct 2017
At the 231st AAS meeting near Washington, DC, on 9 January 2018, the Kavli Foundation Plenary Lecture will be given by Scott Bolton (Southwest Research Institute), principal investigator of NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter...
AAS Hails New Era of Multimessenger Astrophysics
19 Oct 2017
The American Astronomical Society applauds the many astronomers, physicists, engineers, and others involved in the amazing results shared this week on the first joint detection of gravitational waves and electromagnetic...
AAS Offers Updated Advice for Safely Viewing the Solar Eclipse
1 Aug 2017
In response to alarming reports of potentially unsafe eclipse viewers flooding the market as the coast-to-coast solar eclipse of August 21st draws near, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) has revised some of its...
LIGO Team Members to Receive 2018 Berkeley Prize
27 Jul 2017
Three representatives of the team that developed the second-generation detectors for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and used them to detect oscillations in the fabric of space-time will...
New Survey Highlights Gender, Racial Harassment in Astronomy
10 Jul 2017
Women of color working in astronomy and planetary science report more gender and racial harassment than any other group in the field, according to a new study revealing widespread harassment in these scientific...
Solar Eclipse Across America: Science, Yes, and So Much More!
20 Jun 2017
The 21 August 2017 solar eclipse is much more than a scientific bonanza — it’s an opportunity for ordinary people from all walks of life to experience what is arguably nature’s most awesome spectacle.
Astronomers Discuss Science with Congress During Annual Visits Day
29 Mar 2017
On 21-22 March 2017, 16 members of the American Astronomical Society headed to Capitol Hill for AAS Congressional Visits Day (CVD) to get firsthand experience advocating for science.
American Astronomical Society Joins March for Science
27 Mar 2017
The AAS has joined with more than 100 other scientific organizations across all disciplines to become an official partner of the March for Science scheduled for Saturday, 22 April, in Washington, DC, and more than 400...
With Astronomy Rewind, Citizen Scientists Bring Zombie Astrophotos Back to Life
22 Mar 2017
A new citizen-science project involving the AAS journals will rescue tens of thousands of potentially valuable cosmic images that are mostly dead to science and bring them fully back to life.
AAS Awards 31 Mini-Grants for August 2017 Solar Eclipse
14 Mar 2017
Thirty-one outreach projects in 21 states are receiving mini-grants up to $5,000 from the AAS to prepare the public for this year’s most anticipated celestial spectacle: the first total eclipse of the Sun to touch the US...
AAS Urges President to Rescind Order on Visas & Immigration
31 Jan 2017
The AAS has joined with other scientific and engineering societies to send a letter to President Donald Trump objecting to his January 27th executive order on visas and immigration, which will reduce US science and...
AAS Announces 2017 Award Recipients
9 Jan 2017
At its 229th semiannual meeting last week in Grapevine, Texas, the AAS named the recipients of its 2017 prizes for outstanding achievements in research, instrument development, and education.