Publications

The AG publishes the Mitteilungen der Astronomischen Gesellschaft. Those contain the annual reports of astronomy-related institutions in Germany, German-speaking Switzerland, and Austria, but also obituaries, reports of the Executive Committee, e.g. on meetings, minutes of the General Assembly, reports on the development of membership and the Treasurer's reports. The preceding series of the Mitteilungen was the Vierteljahresschrift (quarterly). The decision to publish a journal was already made at the General Assambly 1863 in Heidelberg. Volume 1 of the Vierteljahresschrift was released in 1866. With Volume 79, the publication was discontinued in 1944. In 1949, the first issue of the Mitteilungen der Astronomischen Gesellschaft was released, including the report of the General Assembly in Bonn from 16th to 20th September 1949.

The annual reports published in the Mitteilungen, beginning 1999 until present, can be found on this website, but are only available in German (link).

The society members and friends are informed on current affairs twice a year by a circular (Rundbriefe). (link, only in German)

In the course of its 150 years of history, the Astronomische Gesellschaft released 10 different kinds of publications. Since 1988, the Reviews in Modern Astronomy (RMA) are among them (link).

It was decided to devote the Reviews to the products of the large annual fall meetings of the AG. In particular, it emphasized the Karl Schwarzschild Lectures, the Ludwig Biermann Award Lectures, the invited reviews, and the highlight contributions on recent progress and achievements from leading scientists. The most prestigious of them, the Karl Schwarzschild Lectures, constitutes a special series of reviews by outstanding scientists who have been awarded the Karl Schwarzschild Medal during the fall meeting of the AG. At the same time, excellent young astronomers are honored by the Ludwig Biermann Award. In 2010 the “Doctoral Thesis Award” was established to honor the most outstanding Doctoral Thesis of the past year.

Volume 1 to 14 of the Reviews were published by Springer. Since volume 15 they are published by Wiley-VCH, and begining with volume 24 they are released under open access policies as special edition issues of the Astronomical Notes.

Also since 1988, the AG Abstract Series are released, featuring the abstracts of talks or posters on scientific research. Summaries of contributions to splinter meetings or posters of the International Scientific Meetings are published as Late Contributions in the Supplementary Issues of the Astronomical Notes from 2003 onwards (link).

In September 1996, the 4th edition of the Porträtgalerie (portrait gallery) was released. The three previous editions date back to 1904, 1931 and 1978 (link). The latest edition is available via the secretary for a price of 5,00€ (excl. shipping costs).

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Astronomische Gesellschaft, a complete directory of all members og the AG was released in 2013. This book is available via the secretary for a price of 10,00€ (excl. shipping costs). (Reinhard E. Schielicke: »Wer zählt die Völker – nennt die Namen ...« Die Astronomische Gesellschaft und ihre Mitglieder 1863 bis 2013. Astronomische Gesellschaft, Hamburg 2013.)

Also on the occasion of the anniversary in 2013, a Festschrift containing pictures and stories from 150 years of history was written on behalf of the AG. This book is also available via the secretary for a price of 20,00€ (excl. shipping costs). (Dietrich Lemke [Ed.]: Die Astronomische Gesellschaft 1863–2013. Bilder und Geschichten aus 150 Jahren. Astronomische Gesellschaft, 2013.)