International Astronomy Olympiad
Encyclopedia
The International Astronomy Olympiad (IAO) is an internationally recognized annual astronomy
scientific-educating event for high school students (14–18 years old), which includes an intellectual competition between these students. It is one of the International Science Olympiad
s.
The Eurasian Astronomical Society
founded the IAO in 1996.
The International Astronomy Olympiad is carried out in the spirit of friendship and tolerance, where the competition is a stimulus for showing the participants' capabilities but contacts, exchange of ideas and collaboration between students, teachers and scientists from various countries have a primary importance. The competition at the IAO is not the only part of the programme.
Traditionally the teams of Armenia
, Brazil
, Bulgaria
, China
, Estonia
, India
, Indonesia
, Italy
, Korea
, Lithuania
, Moscow Land
, Romania
, Russia
, Sweden
, Serbia
, and Thailand
take part in the IAO. Crimea
, Ukraine
and Belarus
take part not regularly. Croatia
, Czech Republic
and Kazakhstan
joined the competition at last years. A few countries plan to join IAO in the nearest future.
Moscow Land
and Crimea
send teams apart from Russia
and Ukraine
. As organizers of the oldest open astronomical olympiads and competitions (since 1940s), and due to their historical service in the formation and development of IAO they are considered at IAO as independent states with all rights and duties.
Teams of Bangladesh
, Cambodia
, China
, Indonesia
, Kazakhstan
, Kirgizia, Korea
, Nepal
, asian part of Russia
, Thailand
and Singapore
took part in the APAOs.
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
scientific-educating event for high school students (14–18 years old), which includes an intellectual competition between these students. It is one of the International Science Olympiad
International Science Olympiad
The International Science Olympiads are a group of worldwide annual competitions in various areas of science. The competitions are designed for the 4-6 best high school students from each participating country selected through internal National Science Olympiads, with the exception of the IOL,...
s.
The Eurasian Astronomical Society
Eurasian Astronomical Society
Eurasian Astronomical Society is a scientific society, which comprises professional astronomers from the former Soviet republics, Europe, Israel and United States. It was founded in 1990. The governing bodies are placed in Moscow at the State Astronomical Institute named after P.K...
founded the IAO in 1996.
Competing rounds
The competing part of IAO consists of three rounds: a theoretical, an observational, and a practical. Problems of the theoretical round involve classical problems in branches of astronomy, astrophysics, space and planetary physics, and maybe hypothetical situations. The observational round involves recognizing stars, constellations, estimating star magnitude and angular distance, working with telescopes or other observational technique. The practical round consists of problems based on data results of observations, solutions propose analysis of these data. The chairman is Michael Gavrilov.Aim
The style of the problems of IAO is aimed at developing the imagination, creativity and independent thinking. They stimulate the students to recognize the problem independently, to choose a model, to make necessary suppositions, estimations, to conduct multiway calculations or logic operations. The rounds are not tests of speed or memory or knowledge of formal facts and data, and all basic data and formal facts are provided to the students. The ways of solutions are of the first priority in evaluations of the participants' solutions, while the correct formal final answer (formula or numerical value) does not play the determining role in the evaluation. Participants should have a possibility to exhibit the analytical capacities, and not just to do all procedures by hard rules. Also the jury board does not demand from participants to follow the way of solution that is written by the author or composer of the problem.The International Astronomy Olympiad is carried out in the spirit of friendship and tolerance, where the competition is a stimulus for showing the participants' capabilities but contacts, exchange of ideas and collaboration between students, teachers and scientists from various countries have a primary importance. The competition at the IAO is not the only part of the programme.
Participants
The students for IAO are selected during National Olympiads and Camps of the participating states.Traditionally the teams of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Moscow Land
Moscow metropolitan area
Moscow metropolitan area or Moscow capital region is the largest metropolitan area in Russia and Europe, with population of about 15 million people.- Structure of Moscow metropolitan area :...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
take part in the IAO. Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
take part not regularly. Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
joined the competition at last years. A few countries plan to join IAO in the nearest future.
Moscow Land
Moscow metropolitan area
Moscow metropolitan area or Moscow capital region is the largest metropolitan area in Russia and Europe, with population of about 15 million people.- Structure of Moscow metropolitan area :...
and Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
send teams apart from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. As organizers of the oldest open astronomical olympiads and competitions (since 1940s), and due to their historical service in the formation and development of IAO they are considered at IAO as independent states with all rights and duties.
List of IAOs
| Nr. | Year | Dates | Time Zone | Town | Country | Participating states |
Observing states |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1996 | November 1-9 | UT+3 | Nizhnij Arkhyz |  Russia |
4 | 1 |
| II | 1997 | October 21-28 | UT+4 / UT+3 | Nizhnij Arkhyz | Russia |
4 | - |
| III | 1998 | October 20-27 | UT+4 / UT+3 | Nizhnij Arkhyz | Russia |
5 | 1 |
| IV | 1999 | September 25 - October 2 | UT+3 | Nauchnyj |  Ukraine |
7 | 2 |
| V | 2000 | October 20-27 | UT+4 | Nizhnij Arkhyz | Russia |
8 | - |
| VI | 2001 | September 26 - October 3 | UT+3 | Nauchnyj | Ukraine |
7 | 2 |
| VII | 2002 | October 22-29 | UT+4 / UT+3 | Nizhnij Arkhyz | Russia |
11 | - |
| VIII | 2003 | October 2-8 | UT+2 | Stockholm |  Sweden |
13 | 2 |
| IX | 2004 | October 1-9 | UT+3 | Simeiz | Ukraine |
18 | - |
| X | 2005 | October 25 - November 2 | UT+8 | Beijing |  China |
15 | 2 |
| XI | 2006 | November 10-19 | UT+5:30 | Bombay |  India |
16 | 3 |
| XII | 2007 | September 29 - October 7 | UT+3 | Simeiz | Ukraine |
23 | 1 |
| XIII | 2008 | October 13-21 | UT+2 | Trieste |  Italy |
19 | 1 |
| XIV | 2009 | November 8-16 | UT+8 | Hangzhou | China |
17 | 1 |
| XV | 2010 | October 16-24 | UT+3 | Sudak | Ukraine |
19 | - |
| XVI | 2011 | September 22-30 | UT+6 | Alma-Ata |  Kazakhstan |
19 | 2 |
| XVII | 2012 | October 16-24 | UT+9 | Gwangju |  Korea |
- | - |
Asian-Pacific Astronomy Olympiad
The Asian-Pacific Astronomy Olympiad (APAO) is a regional annual astronomy event for high school students from asian countries. It provides a program for teams of students that did not qualify for the International Astronomy Olympiad (IAO) and the APAO follows the IAO on the calendar. The APAO was founded April 25, 2005 by IAO chairman.Teams of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Kirgizia, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, asian part of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
took part in the APAOs.
List of APAOs
| Nr. | Year | Dates | Time Zone | Town | Country | Participating states |
Observing states |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 2005 | December 4-11 | UT+8 | Irkutsk | Russia |
5 | - |
| I | 2006 | December 4-11 | UT+10 | Vladivostok | Russia |
6 | - |
| III | 2007 | November 21-29 | UT+8 | Xiamen | China |
4 | - |
| IV | 2008 | November 16-23 | UT+6 | Bishkek |  Kirgizia |
6 | - |
| V | 2009 | October 7-14 | UT+9 | Damyang | Korea |
9 | - |
| VI | 2010 | November 24 - December 5 | UT+7 / UT+9 | Tolikara |  Indonesia |
8 | 1 |
| VII | 2011 | November 7-15 | UT+5 | Aktyubinsk | Kazakhstan |
- | - |
See also
Other International Olympiads related to Astronomy:- International Mathematical OlympiadInternational Mathematical OlympiadThe International Mathematical Olympiad is an annual six-problem, 42-point mathematical olympiad for pre-collegiate students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except in 1980...
(IMO, since 1959) - International Physics OlympiadInternational Physics OlympiadThe International Physics Olympiad is an annual physics competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IPhO was held in Warsaw, Poland in 1967....
(IPhO, since 1967) - International Geography OlympiadInternational Geography OlympiadThe International Geography Olympiad is an annual competition for the best 16 to 19 year old geography students from National Geography Olympiads. The competition consists of three parts: a written test, a multimedia test and a substantial field work exercise.iGeO tests the abilities of every...
(IGeO, since 1996) - International Junior Science OlympiadInternational Junior Science OlympiadThe International Junior Science Olympiad is an international science competition for students not older than 15 years old. It was first held in 2004 in Jakarta, Indonesia and is held every year since then. Each country may send a team of up to 6 students and 3 team leaders. Some of the...
(IJSO, since 2004) - International Olympiad on Astronomy and AstrophysicsInternational Olympiad on Astronomy and AstrophysicsThe International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics is an annual astronomy competition for high school students. It is one of the international science olympiads....
(IOAA, since 2007) - International Earth Science OlympiadInternational Earth Science OlympiadThe International Earth Science Olympiad , one of the twelve International Science Olympiads, is an annual competition for secondary school students that tests their abilities in disciplines such as geology, meteorology, environmental science, and terrestrial astronomy...
(IESO, since 2007)