11 September 2023 marked the beginning of the XLI Congress of the Polish Astronomical Society (PTA). The opening ceremony celebrated 100 years since the Society was founded. The congress will last until 15 September.
Toruń is the capital of Polish astronomy not only because Nicolaus Copernicus was born in this city. The Polish Astronomical Society (PTA), an organisation of professional astronomers, was founded here in 1923. It was founded on 19 February 1923, on the 450th anniversary of the famous astronomer’s birth, during the Congress of Polish Astronomers.
Today, the Congresses of the Polish Astronomical Society are the largest regular Polish scientific conferences on astronomy. This year’s convention is being attended by 220 people.
Due to its anniversary year, this year’s conference was held in Toruń, and a large part of the opening day was taken up by a session on the history of Polish astronomy and the Polish Astronomical Society.
“Our Society is active in the fields of science, support for the development of astronomy in Poland and popularisation and education. In my opinion, the most important legacy of the Polish Astronomical Society is the generations of astronomy enthusiasts, both those involved in it professionally and as hobbyists”, said Prof. Marek Jacek Sarna, President of the Polish Astronomical Society.
During the opening ceremony, prestigious prizes awarded by the PTA: the Bohdan Paczyński Medal as the highest distinction for outstanding scientific achievements, the Włodzimierz Zonn Award and Medal for Popularisation of Knowledge of the Universe – one of the oldest Polish awards for the popularisation of science, and the Young PTA Award – for scientists up to 35 years of age with outstanding individual scientific achievements, were presented to the scholars.
The Bohdan Paczyński Medal was given to Prof. Marek Abramowicz, the Włodzimierz Zonn Award and Medal to Dr Maciej Mikołajewski, Dr Krzysztof Czart and the Centre for the Popularisation of Space – Planetarium Toruń, while the Young PTA Award was presented to Jakub Klencki.
Adrian Andrzejewski