The AAS Council may elect any astronomer of distinction who is not resident in North America as an honorary member. This is a prestigious honor for international astronomers.
Nominations for honorary membership may be submitted at any time throughout the year to the AAS Secretary and should be signed by no fewer than five members of the Society.
The list of honorary members elected since the Society was founded is provided below. It is presently incomplete; we are scouring the Society's historical documentation to look for any honorary members we may have overlooked. If you know of any honorary member who is not on this list, please send an email with his or her name and year of election (if known) to aas@aas.org.
*Deceased
| Honorary Member | Year of Election |
|---|---|
| Beatriz Barbuy | 2016 |
| Jocelyn Bell Burnell | 2015 |
| Michel G. E. Mayor | 2015 |
| Henny J.G.L.M. Lamers | 2014 |
| Ewine van Dishoeck | 2013 |
| Yasuo Tanaka | 2012 |
| Malcolm Longair | 2011 |
| Sir Martin J. Rees | 2006 |
| María Teresa Ruiz | 2004 |
| Catherine Cesarsky | 2003 |
| Donald Lynden-Bell | 2001 |
| Rashid Sunyaev | 1997 |
| Lodewijk Woltjer | 1994 |
| Adriaan Blaauw* | 1985 |
| Michael J. Seaton* | 1983 |
| Manali Kallat Vainu Bappu* | 1982 |
| Bengt Strömgren* | 1973 |
| O. Heckman* | 1970 |
| Jan H. Oort* | 1970 |
| P. Swings* | 1970 |
| Viktor A. Ambartsumian* | N/A |
| Thomas G. Cowling* | N/A |
| Iosif S. Shklovsky* | N/A |
| Sir Frank Watson Dyson* | 1921 |
| Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn* | 1916 |
| Oskar Backlund* | 1915 |
| Arthur Auwers* | 1914 |
| Sir David Gill* | 1912 |