AAS Press Releases

The American Astronomical Society has named the latest recipients of its Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy and Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize, adding to the roster of 2021 AAS prize winners.

The American Astronomical Society is honoring 31 members for extraordinary achievement and service by naming them AAS Fellows. Congratulations to the Class of 2021!

Thanks to the National Osterbrock Leadership Program, graduate students in astronomy at Columbia University and the University of California, Irvine, will get real-world training in scientific leadership and management.

At its 237th semiannual meeting, held virtually in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the AAS announced the recipients of its 2021 prizes for outstanding achievements in research and education.

The AAS and 15 other major physics-related professional societies that publish peer-reviewed journals have joined forces to show their commitment to open access for physics research.

Astronomer and science communicator Rick Fienberg has announced that he will retire as Press Officer of the American Astronomical Society effective 1 September 2021, the 12th anniversary of his start date in the job.

The American Astronomical Society has decided to discontinue its press-release-forwarding service by year’s end. Launched more than 30 years ago, the service has become unsustainable.

UK physicist Roger Penrose, along with AAS members Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez, have been named recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 for their theoretical and observational work on black holes.

Astronomers and satellite operators agree there’s a problem; report from Satellite Constellations 1 (SATCON1) workshop explores practical ways to address it and identifies issues for further study.

NSF's NOIRLab and the AAS will host a joint virtual press conference on Tuesday, 25 August, to present a report on the impact of existing and planned large satellite constellations on optical and infrared astronomy.

Sherry Suyu will receive the 2021 Lancelot M. Berkeley–New York Community Trust Prize for her leadership of the H0LiCOW collaboration, which is measuring the cosmic expansion rate using gravitationally lensed quasars.

At AAS 237 in January 2021, the Fred Kavli Plenary Lecture will be given by Paul B. Demorest (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) on NANOGrav, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves.

The AAS and its Historical Astronomy Division announce the launch of the Astronomy Genealogy Project, which provides information on more than 33,000 astronomers who earned and/or supervised astronomy-related PhD theses.

Megan Donahue comments on the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor and reaffirms the Society's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to AAS members who are marginalized.

The AAS has established a new accolade, Fellow of the AAS, to honor members for extraordinary achievement and noteworthy service to astronomy and to the Society. Meet our Inaugural Fellow and Legacy Fellows!