Suzanne Débarbat

Johann Karl Buckhardt, un Allemand de Gotha à Paris

Johann Karl Burckhardt est depuis 1796 aupres de Franz Xaver von Zach, a l’observatoire du Seeberg, lorsque ce dernier l’envoie a Paris se former chez Lalande. En depit des evenements de l’epoque, il se plait en France et bientot se fait naturaliser et y poursuit sa carriere. Il entre successivement au Bureau des longitudes et a l’Academie des sciences, observe et habite l’observatoire de l’Ecole militaire ; il traduit en allemand deux volumes de la Mecanique celeste de Laplace, publie plusieurs ouvrages, des articles, des Tables de la Lune, consacre a des calculs, notamment pour des trajectoires de cometes ou de petites planetes, la plus grande partie de ses travaux astronomiques. Ne en Allemagne, il devient, sous le nom de Jean-Charles Burckhardt (1773-1825), tres connu aussi bien en France que dans son pays natal.

Division X Working Group on Historic Radio Astronomy

During the Rio General Assembly we held the following meetings of the Working Group: a Business Meeting, a Science Meeting on “The Development of Aperture Synthesis Imaging in Radio Astronomy”, and a Science Meeting on “Recent Research”.

Inter-Division IV-V-IX / Working Group Historic Radio Astronomy

The Working Group was formed at the IAU XXV General Assembly in Sydney, 2003, as a joint initiative of Commissions 40 Radio Astronomy and Commission 41 History of Astronomy, in order to assemble a master list of surviving historically-significant radio telescopes and associated instrumentation found worldwide, and document the technical specifications and scientific achievements of these instruments. In addition, it would maintain an on-going bibliography of publications on the history of radio astronomy, and monitor other developments relating to the history of radio astronomy (including the deaths of pioneering radio astronomers).

DIVISION IX/COMMISSION 41/WORKING GROUP ARCHIVES

In the triennium 2006–2009, the WG Archives promoted an action of recognition of the archival documents concerning the foundation of IAU. The pretext was given by the fact that the year 2009 was the 90th anniversary of the establishment of IAU and the WG considered worth to start checking the conditions of preservation and conservation of such documents, in view of the approaching centenary.