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The African Astronomical Society (AfAS)

is a Pan-African Professional Society of Astronomers.

Count Down to the next annual conference of the African Astronomical Society (AfAS-2023)

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The African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA)

The African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA) invites you to join its third virtual training session to be conducted by Dr Retha Pretorius from the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). More information below:

Topic: Landing the right PhD Position
When: 30th November 2022
Time: 11:00 am CAT
Virtual

You can register for this session at the link below:
bit.ly/afnwa-training

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS), in partne

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS), in partnership with the International Astronomical Union – Office of Astronomy for Development (IAU-OAD), are pleased to inform you about the AfAS-IAU-OAD World Science Forum 2022 (WSF2022) Side Event titled “Advancing Africa’s Astronomy Agenda”, which will be taking place on 06 December 2022 from 11:30 to 13:00 (CAT) during the 2022 Word Science Forum that will be held from 6 to 9 December 2022 in Cape Town South Africa (bit.ly/astronomy-africa). The forum is on the social and economic relevance, influence and responsibilities of science to find authentic responses to global challenges.

This side event presents an opportunity for major role players to highlight how the different activities enable the advancement of astronomy in Africa and plans to ensure that Africa becomes one of the world's leaders in astronomy.

This session will be a hybrid session allowing for virtual participation, and details for online participation will be shared with those registered for virtual attendance.

Registration for the AfAS-IAU-OAD is at this link: https://forms.gle/XvHxYMT4TkXGAfjs7.

Information on the AfAS-IAU-OAD Side Event can be found at: http://www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/2022/11/21/world-science-forum-afas-iau-oad-side-event/ and bit.ly/astronomy-africa.

Please note that you must have an invitation to the World Science Forum if you wish to join us in-person at the CTICC in Cape Town. You can request an invitation to participate in-person on the forum website: https://worldscienceforum.org. Thereafter, the organisers will send details for registration.

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) wishes to

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) wishes to inform you that the AfAS Annual Conference will be held from the 13th to the 17th of March, 2023. The conference will be organised as a hybrid meeting (online and in-person) in collaboration with the Wits Centre for Astrophysics. The physical venue is the Wits Origins Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. The maximum number of in-person attendees at the venue is 100 (hundred), and the rest will join virtually.

The hybrid format will allow those that are unable to travel the opportunity of attending and/or presenting a talk by virtual means. This notice is a Call for abstracts from those wanting to present a talk or poster at the conference in the following tracks:

1) Scientific
2) Education, Development, and Outreach (EDO)

Interested persons must submit a brief abstract (Maximum 300 Words) on the presentation, which the Scientific and EDO Organising Committee will consider; the closing date for the submission of the abstracts is 09 January 2023. Presenters must indicate whether they wish to present in-person or virtually. AfAS is committed to a diverse representation of talks at all levels, including student presentations on their research work. It is anticipated that the final programme will be published by the end of February 2023, with authors of successful abstract submissions advised by mid-February 2023.

Information on the conference can be found at:
https://www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/2022/10/05/afas-2023-information/

Registration for the AfAS-2023 Annual Conference is now open at:
https://www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/afas2023-registration-form/

In addition to the annual conference, AfAS, in conjunction with DARA Big Data, the OAD, and IDIA, is organising a Data Science Hackathon event at the University of the Witwatersrand from 18-20 March 2023. This will take place fully in-person. The hackathon is open to Undergraduate, Postgraduate students and young professionals from across Africa from all STEM fields who have a keen interest in data science and machine learning. Information and registration for the hackathon are at the link below:
https://www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/afa

It is with sad hearts that we learn of the passing

It is with sad hearts that we learn of the passing of our dear colleague, friend and astronomer, Prof. Carolina Ödman-Govender. This is a tremendous loss for the community, and she will be remembered for her amazing work, which was well appreciated in South Africa, the African continent and around the world. She has left an indelible mark in her field of research and even her passion for reaching out to the public and the youth to share her love for Astronomy.

Carolina was a very active member of the African Astronomical Society (AfAS), having served on numerous committees and being part of key initiatives and collaborations. She served on the board of the African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA) with pride and great dedication.

On behalf of the African Astronomical Society and its members, we thank her for playing an important role in the development and growth of Astronomy in Africa. AfAS offers heartfelt condolences to her husband, Kevin Govender, her boys, family, friends, colleagues, and students. We will be consoled by the tremendous work that continues to inspire us daily.

On behalf of the AfAS
Prof Thebe Medupe
President: AfAS

Poster and Information: Partial solar eclipse The

Poster and Information: Partial solar eclipse

The partial solar eclipse of 25 October 2022 is not well placed for observing from Africa, except for Egypt and parts of Libya.

For tips on safe ways to see the eclipse from your homes, see our previous material at www.bit.ly/eclipsedec20

We are just under a day away from the start of the

We are just under a day away from the start of the 2022 Astronomy in Africa Forum. The forum programme starts tomorrow (25 October 2022) at 09:00 CAT (UTC+2:00).

More information and the programme is available on the IAU-GA2024 website:
https://astronomy2024.org/2022-forum-on-astronomy-in-africa/

In preparation for your participation in the Forum, please read through the 2024 Vision document, which you can find on the IAU-GA2024 website:
https://astronomy2024.org/vision-2024/

Today the African Astronomical Society is particip

Today the African Astronomical Society is participating in the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa Symposium 2022. We spoke about some of our current and future activities on the continent and the IAU-GA2024.

We are excited to inform you that the third annual

We are excited to inform you that the third annual conference of the African Astronomical Society (AfAS-2023) will be held from 13 to 17 March 2023. Please mark the dates in your calendar and stay tuned for further announcements!

The conference will be a hybrid format and will include in-person attendance and a digital platform, allowing for greater participation from across the African continent and beyond. The programme will consist of:

- Science talks
- Education, Development, and Outreach talks
- The AfAS Business Meeting
- Networking, side meetings

A formal announcement will be issued in the coming weeks, including registration details, venue information, abstract and presentation details, and deadlines.

The latest issue of the African Astronomical Socie

The latest issue of the African Astronomical Society Newsletter is available at: https://www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/newsletter-september-2022/

Covered in this issue:

- AfAS-2022: Second Annual Conference of the African Astronomical Society & General Assembly

- Forum on Astronomy in Africa 2022 (visit: https://astronomy2024.org/2022-forum-on-astronomy-in-africa/ 25 October 2022)

- Registration open for SALT workshop: 14-15 November 2022
African Participation at the XXXIst General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Busan, South Korea

- Outcome announcement: AfAS-2022 Seed research grant

- Updates from AfAS

This week we participated in the Communicating Ast

This week we participated in the Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP 2022) Conference organised as a hybrid event in Sydney, Australia.

Our Immediate Past President, Prof. Jamal Mimouni, spoke about Reaching the Unreached: Astronomy for Sahelian Africa.

Our Outreach Committee Chair, Dr Niruj Mohan Ramanujam, spoke about Astronomy outreach for a continent – the African Astronomical Society

#IAUCAP2022

The National Organising Committee of the IAU Gener

The National Organising Committee of the IAU General Assembly 2024 will be funding two Masters degree scholarships in astronomy for students to undertake their research at a South African university starting early in 2023.
The Call for Applications for the “Astronomy in Africa” scholarships is now open and can be found on the following webpage:
https://astronomy2024.org/africa-2024-scholarships/
Please note that students from any African country are eligible to apply for these scholarships.
The deadline for scholarship applications is 7 October 2022.

During August, @africaastronomy celebrates women i

During August, @africaastronomy celebrates women in astronomy across the continent.

Today we meet Victoria da Graca Samboco from Mozambique, a Masters student from @rhodes_university

@africaastronomy continues to celebrate women in a

@africaastronomy continues to celebrate women in astronomy in August.

Meet Hawi Yohanis; she is currently studying astronomy and astrophysics at the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI).

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) is pleased

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) is pleased to announce the outcome of the 2022 Seed Research Grant. Launched in 2021 by the AfAS Early-Career Researcher Sub-Committee under our Science Committee, the AfAS Seed Research Grant supports research projects in Astronomy (including Astrophysics and Space Science) conducted by postgraduate students and/or early career researchers that are based in Africa. Each of the three laureates will receive a grant to use towards international/domestic travel, lodging, computer equipment and other research-related expenses.

Please join us in congratulating our laureates:

Ms Grace Katusiime
Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda
Research Project: “New ideas from old friends: revisiting XTE J1118+480 and XTE J1550-564.”

Dr Hassan Abdalla
Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan
Research Project: “Infrared emission from interstellar dust in cosmic voids affecting the TeV gamma-ray flux from distant blazars.”

Ms Malebo Ella Moloko
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Research Project: “MeerLIRGs: A 1.28 GHz MeerKAT continuum
study of Luminous Infrared Galaxies in the
Southern Hemisphere”

@africaastronomy continues to celebrate women in a

@africaastronomy continues to celebrate women in astronomy in August.

Meet @carolbotha, an astronomy hobbyist passionate about Education, Development, and Outreach in the field.

@africaastronomy is celebrating women in Astronomy

@africaastronomy is celebrating women in Astronomy in August.

Meet Dr Stabile Kolwa, a lecturer and an astronomer at the University of Johannesburg; they are also an elected member of the Executive Committee of the African Astronomical Society.

This month @africaastronomy is celebrating women i

This month @africaastronomy is celebrating women in Astronomy.

Meet Mayssa El Yazidi from Tunisia; she is a PhD student in planetary sciences at the Centre of Studies and Activities for Space (CISAS) at the University of Padova.

This month @africaastronomy is celebrating women i

This month @africaastronomy is celebrating women in Astronomy. Meet Dr Elizabeth Nalumisa, a postdoctoral fellow at the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT); she is also an elected member of the Executive Committee of @africaastronomy.

We look forward to welcoming the world to Africa i

We look forward to welcoming the world to Africa in 2024. We have come a long way… In 2024 the IAU GA will take place in Cape Town. This is for the first time that this meeting will be hosted in Africa in the 103 years history of the IAU.

It’s time for Africa!

Today is the final day of the #iauga2022 in Busan.

Today is the final day of the #iauga2022 in Busan. Our African community gathered for a group photo. We look forward to the closing ceremony, where the flag will be officially handed over to South Africa to host the meeting in Cape Town in 2024.

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