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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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We are happy to announce that there will be a spec

We are happy to announce that there will be a special session (SS1) on "Africa-Europe collaborations towards the impact of 2024 IAU GA on astronomy developments" at the 2023 annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society (EAS) that will take place in Poland, from 10 to 14 July 2023 (https://eas.unige.ch/EAS2023/).

All information about the SS1 session is given here: https://eas.unige.ch/EAS_meeting/session.jsp?id=SS1

This will be the 4th edition of the Africa-Europe research collaborations session organised in general on a bi-annual basis under the EAS annual meetings.

This year, with SS1, we aim to have a general reflection about the current status of Africa-Europe collaborations in astronomy for together building the road to the 2024 IAU General Assembly (GA), the first one to be held in Africa (https://astronomy2024.org/). We expect that this event will burst the astronomy developments across the continent, from research and infrastructure developments to education and outreach, strengthening the initiatives that are already running, strengthening international collaborations between Africa, Europe and the rest of the world, also contributing to astronomy developments in those countries where still there is no much of astronomy. Many expectations and enthusiasm are there regarding the 2024 GA, which can be seen in the community-developed Vision 2024 document (https://astronomy2024.org/vision-2024/) that is freely available and that is under constant development, summarising all of the objectives behind the 2024 GA.

The principal topics to be covered under SS1 are:
- Science and infrastructure developments.
- Education, outreach and public awareness.
- Astronomy for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and strategies for bringing astronomy everywhere. Engagement with policy-makers.

Call for abstracts for SS1 is now open until March 1st under any of these 3 topics through the EAS system: https://eas.unige.ch/EAS2023/abstract_submission.jsp

For registration, please visit: https://eas.unige.ch/EAS2023/registration.jsp

For registration fee waivers and/or travel grants (deadline March 1st), please visit: https://eas.unige.ch/EAS2023/grants.jsp

We are almost two weeks away from #AfAS2023 and lo

We are almost two weeks away from #AfAS2023 and looking forward to the exciting programme put together by our SOC. In this video, our Science Committee Chair, Prof. James Chibueze, previews the Science programme to expect at this year's meeting.

http://www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/2022/10/05/afas-2023-information/

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) invites ap

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) invites applications for the AfAS-2023 Seed Research Grant to support research projects in Astronomy (including Astrophysics and Space Science) conducted by postgraduate students and/or early career researchers based in Africa.

Three (3) grants of up to a maximum of 1 200 Euros for PhD and Post-Doc and up to 800 Euros for Master students will be awarded to outstanding applicants in 2023. The seed funding may be used for international/domestic travel, lodging, computer equipment and other research-related expenses.

ELIGIBILITY
- Applicants can be citizens of any country, provided they are registered at a university based in an African country during the 2022-2023 academic year.
- Applicants who are currently conducting research in Astronomy (including Astrophysics and Space Science)
- Applicants must be enrolled for a Master’s or Doctoral degree, or they must have completed their PhD degree within three years of the application date.
- Priority will be given to students from under-resourced institutions.

Interested MSc and PhD students and early career researchers should submit their applications on the AfAS website platform by 15 April 2023:

Webpage:
http://www.afasociety.org/afas-2023-seed-research-grant/

Application form:
http://www.afasociety.org/afas-2023-seed-research-grant-application-form/

Kindly distribute the call to interested parties.

Informal enquiries may be directed to Dr Charles Takalana (charles.takalana@afasociety.org) or Dr Sthabile Kolwa (AfAS Early Career Committee Chair, skolwa@uj.ac.za)

The African Astronomical Society's African Network

The African Astronomical Society's African Network for Women in Astronomy (AfNWA) is delighted to announce Dr Al-Shaimaa Hassanin as the winner of the newly named “Prof. Carolina Ödman Early Career Award” for Women in Astronomy in Africa. The award aims to recognise and support the scientific achievements and contributions to society, of women in Astronomy in Africa. Thus AfNWA and International Science Programme (ISP) are elated to present this prestigious award to someone who embodies their associations’ mission and values. The renaming of the award this year recognises Carolina Ödman’s passion for helping young people realise their dreams in astronomy. Professor Ödman was a founding member of AfNWA, and passed away in November 2022. Renaming the award in her honour acknowledges the vital role she played in the African astronomy community.

Press release: https://afnwa.org/award-recognises-top-female-early-career-astronomer-in-africa/

This week the African Astronomical Society is at t

This week the African Astronomical Society is at the Middle East and Africa Regional IAU Meeting in Cairo, Egypt. We will be sharing details about various activities, including #astronomyinafrica, the African Integrated Observation System (AIOS) concept, #afas2023, African Science Stars and #IAUGA2024. If you are attending, please visit our stand and talk to us.
#MEARIM2023

We are happy to be part of the X-VISION 2023 Capac

We are happy to be part of the X-VISION 2023 Capacity Building Workshop from 06 to 17 February 2023. The workshop aims to provide a unique platform for students and young researchers from developing nations to learn how to analyze X-ray data.

The #AfAS2023 conference will be held at the Unive

The #AfAS2023 conference will be held at the University of the Witwatersrand, Origins Centre, in Johannesburg, South Africa from 13 to 17 March 2023. Preparations are underway, and our programme is taking shape. Look out for more information on our website:

http://www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/2022/10/05/afas-2023-information/

#AfAS2023 #astronomyinafrica

The third annual conference of the African Astrono

The third annual conference of the African Astronomical Society will take place in a hybrid format from 13 to 17 March 2023 at the University of the Witwatersrand, Origins Centre, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Please visit our website for information and registration http://www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/2022/10/05/afas-2023-information/

The video in this post is a recap of our 2022 meeting. We look forward to seeing you at #AfAS2023

Stars of Dar Taliba In tribute to Dr. Carolina Öd

Stars of Dar Taliba
In tribute to Dr. Carolina Ödman Govender
Following the activities of the Astronomy Festival of Marrakech, our wish was to pay tribute to the late Carolina Ödman Govender. Carolina, who has just left us, played an important role in the education and promotion of girls in science. She contributed to the creation of the Astronomy for Africa and led the program: Knowledge of the Universe (Universe Awareness, UNAWE), an awareness program aimed at inspiring children to learn astronomy. Contadi
Pr Leila Binebine : binebinelaila@amail.com
PrAbdelmaid Benhido: o. berhidaleruca ac.mc

PhD Award winner: Dr Miriam Mumbua Nyamai Thesis t

PhD Award winner:
Dr Miriam Mumbua Nyamai
Thesis title: Radio observations as a tool to study shock interactions and mass ejections in novae
Institution: University of Cape Town
#astronomy #PhD
@university_of_cape_town

PhD Award winner: Dr Jamila Chouqar Thesis title:

PhD Award winner:
Dr Jamila Chouqar
Thesis title: Detectability and Characterization of Exo-atmospheres with the James Webb Space Telescope
Institution: Cadi Ayyad University
#astronomy #PhD
@universite_cadi_ayyad

MSc Award winner: Denisha Pillay Thesis title: A S

MSc Award winner:
Denisha Pillay
Thesis title: A Statistical Pilot study for MERGHERS
Institution: @ukzn
#astronomy #MSc

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) is pleased

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS) is pleased to announce the outcome of the 2022 MSc and PhD prizes.

The AfAS MSc and PhD Prizes aim to recognise and reward the outstanding accomplishments achieved by academically talented African students who recently defended their Master’s or PhD thesis in the field of Astronomy (including Astrophysics & Space Science).

The applications were comprehensively reviewed by the AfAS Science Committee in line with the criteria of the call, and those that met the standard were awarded.

We encourage students from all regions on the continent to look out for and apply for the next edition of the call to get better representation across the continent. The prizes are awarded with a cash prize of $400 for an MSc and $800 for a PhD award, respectively.

Please join us in congratulating our recipients for the 2022 AfAS MSc and PhD prizes listed below.

MSc award:
Denisha Pillay, @ukzn

PhD awards:
Dr Jamila Chouqar, @universite_cadi_ayyad
and Dr Miriam Mumbua Nyamai, @university_of_cape_town
#Africa #awards #astronomy #astronomy2024

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS), in partne

The African Astronomical Society (AfAS), in partnership with GA2024 organisers and the IAU-OAD, have come together to organise a session on Africa-US astronomy collaboration towards IAU-GA2024 and building a legacy. The session will bring together major players in Astronomy in both Africa and the USA. The session will take place tomorrow (15 December 2022) at 08:00 EST / 15:00 CAT (UTC+2:00).
This session is one in a series of side events organised by ISC (Intelligence in Science) and partners focussing on the contribution of science to the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit and its outcomes taking place in Washington on 12-15 December 2022. Registration and more information are available at this link: https://scienceusafricaleaders.sched.com/event/1ExtK/15085-africa-us-astronomy-collaboration-towards-iau-ga2024-and-building-a-legacy

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/

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