Grzegorz Stachowski is the President of the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. We asked him about the story of the event!   This event series will be held 13th times this year, could you tell us about its origin, how did it all start? „The event started in 2006 as a brunch of the international physics olympiad. People who were there , felt that it  should be important to separate astronomy and physics, because astronomy is different from physics in many ways. In 2007 we held the first International gathering of astrophysics in Thailand, which happened to be also the anniversary of the king. It was a big ceremony and Thailand was very happy to held this event. We started with about 20 countries, now we have almost 50.„ What is the purpose of the event? „First of all it is a competition obviously, and it allow the best high school students from around the world to compete. But also its a way for the children to meet each other. Many children who are interested in astronomy have to learn by themselves, they may be living in a small town, they might be the only child from their school, [...]

Astronomy is a science with thousands of years of history, which has been constantly changing and developing, especially since the explosion of modern technology. Accordingly, if you would like to stay up to date, you need to find your sources, the pages where you can obtain reliable information about the news. Here we help you now. Here are the top sites that are worthwhile to follow. NASA How else should we start the line if not with NASA’s page. The site for professionals, non-professionals and any interested people sets out a tremendous amount of information about even more interesting expeditions, results, and events. The image of the day is chosen every day, which is usually a great success, but you can also follow NASA TV as well as the posts of astronauts on Twitter. Astronomy Now Astronomy Now is England's most popular monthly magazine with a super website. Reading the articles, you will definitely feel like subscribing to the magazine. www.space.com space.com was launched in 1999 and has become the favourite of millions since then. It is no wonder, because you can find here recent, current and interesting information, in addition the structure of the page is logical, thus you [...]

This year’s International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics is the 13th in the line that was launched in Thailand in 2006 by five countries including Thailand, Poland, Indonesia, Iran, and China. Let’s look at the advancement of its history. International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics was established in 2006 with the aim to make astronomy and astrophysics enjoyable for young people and to build cooperation among those who intend to get into this field more thoroughly. The first president of the organization, which was established to organise the event, was Assoc. Prof. Boonrucksar Soonthornthum, whereas the first director-general was Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chatief Kunjaya, and today Gregorz Stachowski (Poland) and Dr. Aniket Sule (India) have these positions. The first event was held in Thailand in 2007, to commemorate the 80th birth anniversary of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the 84th birth anniversary of the Princess Galyani Vadhana. Statues of IOAA became adopted here, and leaders were also promoted on that occasion. Over the years, the event got to so many exciting countries: To Indonesia in 2008, to Iran in 2009, to China in 2010, to Poland in 2011, to Brazil in 2012, to Greece in 2013, to Romania in 2014, [...]

This year (2019) Hungary will host the 13th International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA). High school students from all over the world come to the event to challenge their knowledge in the field of astrophysics and astronomy. The history of IOAA Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, China and Poland were the five countries that joined together and established International Olympiad on Astronomy in 2006. Their aim was not less than to popularize astronomy among high school students, and to promote the development of international professional contacts, for which this meeting is a great opportunity. The first event was held in Thailand in 2007, followed by Indonesia in 2008, Iran in 2009, China in 2010, Poland in 2011, Brazil in 2012, Greece in 2013, Romania in 2014, Indonesia in 2015, India in 2016, Thailand in 2017, China in 2018 and Hungary now, in 2019. The Hungarian event will take place in Keszthely, near Lake Balaton, which is the largest lake in Central Europe and is also a popular tourist destination. https://youtu.be/z1_Cb9xqST0   Competition procedure For the IOAA event, competitors from 47 countries come in teams, but it is important that the challenge will be individual. Young people need to be excellent [...]