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History and objectives
IAU Commissions 8 and 24 are among the original 32 IAU
commissions established at the founding meeting in Brussels in 1919.
Over the years Commission 8 has changed its name from "Meridian Astronomy"
to "Positional Astronomy" and to the present "Astrometry".
Original Commission 24 "Stellar Parallaxes" was first renamed to "Stellar
Parallaxes and Proper Motions" then to "Photographic Astrometry"
but in 2000 it merged with the former Commission 8 to form
the present Commission 8.
The IAU Commission 8 "Astrometry" coordinates all aspects of positional
astronomy which involve positions, proper motions, and parallaxes of
celestial objects. These include establishing
celestial reference frames and systems; their maintenance, densification
and further improvement using the existing ground-based and space
instrumentation and theoretical advancements. Currently, one of the
main tasks is to ensure a smooth implementation of the IAU 2000
resolutions aimed at realization of a sub-microarcsecond astrometry.
This effort is led by the IAU Scientific Division I "Fundamental Astronomy".
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