Vereinigte Astronomische Gesellschaft (VAG) was an international astronomical

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 society founded in 1800.

History

International cooperation in astronomy started with a first meeting of 15 European astronomers in Gotha

Gotha (town)

Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...

 in 1798. The society was founded two years in Lilienthal

Lilienthal

Lilienthal may refer to:* Lilienthal, Lower Saxony, a city in Germany* Liliental, a 1978 group featuring Asmus Tietchens, Conny Plank, Dieter Moebius, Hellmut Hattler and Johannes Pappert and Okko Bekker- Family name :...

, near Bremen, to organize the compilation of ecliptic star charts, with more than half of the members originated from non-German speaking countries. In the same year Monatliche Correspondenz (monthly correspondence) was founded in 1800 by Franz Xaver von Zach to publish results.

In 1845, the society published the Berliner Akademische Sternkarten (Berlin academic star maps).

Further reading

• Wolfgang R. Dick, Jürgen Hamel (Eds.): Astronomie von Olbers bis Schwarzschild. Nationale Entwicklungen und internationale Beziehungen im 19. Jahrhundert. (Acta Historica Astronomiae ; 14). Thun ; Frankfurt am Main: Deutsch, 2002, 243 p., ISBN 3-8171-1667-5
• Internationality from the VAG (1800) to the Astronomische Gesellschaft.