Astronomers wanting to chart the whole sky, or even part of it, 24/7, must collaborate across nations, continents, and hemispheres. The Greeks were perhaps the first to do this, though Eratosthenes' measurement of the diameter of the earth was done when Alexandria and Syene were both part of Ptolemaic Egypt. The Golden Age of Arabic/Moslem astronomy coincided with times when there were very large caliphates and similar empire-like structures. The situation was very different for European astronomy at all times, with periods of successful international collaborations alternating with periods of disaster. Von Zach's “celestial police” agreed in 1800 at Lilienfeld to divide up the sky and look for the “missing” planet between Mars and Jupiter. The observatory was ransacked and papers burned by retreating Napoleonic soldiers in 1813. Skipping ahead most of a century, the Carte du Ciel, George Ellery Hale's Solar Union, Kapteyn's selected areas, and several other cooperative projects had scarcely started when the Great War broke out, and a German eclipse expedition under Erwin Freundlich, which had gone to the Crimea to look for bending of starlight, was imprisoned. All members eventually got home, but the equipment was never recovered.

While British eclipse expeditions organized by Eddington saw the bending of light from Sobral and Principe in 1919, the IAU, founded in the same year, explicitly excluded Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and the other central powers (even neutrals were not admitted for several years). Indeed Germany did not adhere until 1952. IAU membership now is generally driven by financial issues, but the solution of one nation, two adhering organizations for China was a major victory for international compromise. Coming down to the present, it is interesting that Europe, the site of the outbreak of both the World Wars, has led in the establishment of the European Southern Observatory, the European Space Research Organization (now ESA), and Astronomy and Astrophysics. Even the USA is gradually learning to cooperate with other astronomical nations (though we are still not brilliantly good at it). And the current projects for very large ground-based observing facilities, with acronyms like LOFAR, SKA, GMT, EVLT, and TMT, involve most of Europe, North America, China, Japan, India, and other parts of Asia and South America. A printed version of my FM2 presentation is in press for Vol. 43 (December 2015 issue) of the Journal of American Association of Variable Star Observers (roughly half of whose membership resides outside the US).

I thank Gudrun Wolfschmidt for a list of the astronomers who made up the “celestial police”.

This paper aims at contributing to the UNESCO-IAU Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative's discussions by presenting the case study of a 20th-century observatory located in a South American country. In fact, the National Observatory of Brazil was created in the beginning of the 19th century, but its present facilities were inaugurated in 1921. Through this paper a brief description of the heritage associated with the Brazilian observatory is given, focused on its main historical instruments and the scientific and social roles it performed along its history. By way of conclusion, the paper suggests that the creation of the Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences with its multidisciplinary team of academic specialists and technicians was decisive for the preservation of that expressive astronomical heritage.

Construction of Canada's Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) commenced in 1914 with first light on 6 May 1918. As distinct from the contemporaneous development with private funding of major observatories in the western United States, DAO was (and remains) funded by the federal government. Canada's initial foray into ‘big science’, creation of DAO during the First World War was driven by Canada's desire to contribute significantly to the international rise of observational astrophysics enabled by photographic spectroscopy. In 2009 the Observatory was designated a National Historic Site. DAO's varied, rich contributions to the astronomical heritage of the 20th century continue in the 21st century, with particularly strong ties to Maunakea.

On August 11 we held a panel discussion at the 2015 IAU General Assembly, within the three-day Focus Meeting FM2, “Astronomical Heritage: Progressing the UNESCO–IAU Initiative”. Our purpose was to both honor and explore the contributions of John Jefferies to the creation and development of Mauna Kea as an astronomical site.

Brief report. The Extended Case Study for AURA-O as a “Window to the Universe” (http://www2.astronomicalheritage.net/index.php/show-entity?identity=000059&idsub-entity=005) was prepared in the context of supporting the desire to preserve humanity's scientific/cultural heritage of outstanding, high-mountain, ground-based, observatory sites developed over the period 1870–2000.

The AURA Observatory site in northern Chile, which includes Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachon, has been operational for over 50 years now, facing a variety of challenges to its long-term future. The site now hosts over 20 operational telescopes, ranging from small projects with 0.4m telescopes to the Blanco 4m, the SOAR 4.1m, and the 8m Gemini-South telescopes. In addition, we have recently begun the construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) on the summit of Cerro Pachon. We summarize our efforts over the past 20-30 years to highlight the importance of site protection through education and public outreach as well as through more recent promotion of IDA certifications in the region and support for the World Heritage initiatives described by others in this conference.

The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) observing station near Sutherland, Northern Cape in South Africa, is one of the darkest sites in the world for optical and IR astronomy. The SAAO hosts and operates several facilities, including the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) and a number of international robotic telescopes. To ensure that the conditions remain optimal for astronomy, legislation called the Astronomy Geographic Advantage (AGA) Act, of 2007, was enacted. The Act empowers the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to regulate issues that pose a threat to optical and/or radio astronomy in areas declared Astronomy Advantage Areas in South Africa. For optical astronomy, the main challenges are those posed by light and dust pollution as result of wind energy developments, and petroleum gas and oil exploration/exploitation in the area. We give an update of possible threats to the quality of the night skies at SAAO, and the challenges relating to the AGA Act implementation and enforcement. We discuss measures that are put in place to protect the Observatory, including a study to quantify the threat by a planned wind energy facility.

This communication proposes a methodical approach trying to link the concept of “Windows to the Universe” to the uses of the Criteria defined by the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO 1972). The first issue is well advanced today after more than 10 years of active studies and preservation projects such as “Starlight Reserves” by specialists of astronomy, archaeoastronomy and environmental sciences. The second issue is related to a UNESCO Convention ruled by the WH Committee that has led to the recognition of around 1000 World Heritage sites over 40 years. The official booklet Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (latest edition 2015) (UNESCO 2015) summarizes conceptual ideas and methodological recommendations for WH nominations. In practice the WH Committee's decisions rely on the scientific and professional evaluation of each site by UNESCO's advisory bodies: ICOMOS for cultural heritage and IUCN for natural heritage.

The first goal of this presentation is to establish appropriate understanding of a very specific conceptual approach (Windows to the Universe) in the context of a very large UN Convention (the World Heritage List) related both to cultural and natural heritage in general. The second goal is to give a readable understanding of the WH requirements coming from the strict evaluation of the “Outstanding Universal Value” (OUV) of a given place, including the choice of WH Criteria expressing OUV with respect to the format of the Guidelines. Furthermore, and due to concepts coming from two very different fields, the communication aims to present a practical methodology in the case of a possible WH nomination: how to understand relationships between different classes of value and how to demonstrate OUV and justify the choice of Criteria for the place. Beyond potential WH projects, obviously limited in number, the communication tries to propose an efficient and general methodology for assessing the value and creating understanding of places having a “Windows to the Universe” facet.

Observatories offer a good possibility for serial transnational applications. For example one can choose groups like baroque or neoclassical observatories, solar physics observatories or a group of observatories equipped with the same kind of instruments or made by famous firms. I will discuss what has been achieved and show examples, like the route of astronomical observatories, the transition from classical astronomy to modern astrophysics. I will also discuss why the implementation of the World Heritage & Astronomy initiative is difficult and why there are problems to nominate observatories for election in the national tentative lists.

The demarcation between “old”, “historic” and “heritage” is fuzzy. To a large degree it depends upon purpose and usefulness, and it will always be subjective. At what point does the intrinsic value of an historic item outpace the mystique associated just with its age? When, for instance, does an “old” car become a “vintage” car? When do archived astronomical records contribute something of quantitative value to science? When can they be extricated from the realms of the museum and placed in the context of modern research?

Celestial objects vary. Some do so explosively, often irreversibly; many vary periodically over time-scales from a hour or less to a century or more. Furthermore, all celestial objects change as they evolve, mostly so slowly as to be practically imperceptible, but while the general time-scale of that evolution is millions of years there are a few stages (such as the collapse from AGB towards planetary nebula and white dwarf) which happen rather suddenly, and invaluable examples of “before--after” can be found in some plate stores. Astrophysics has a comprehensive need to investigate the nature and time-scales of all types of change, especially ones which only access to its “heritage” data can describe. Surely in this day and age we have enough tools, capacity and technologies to fulfil such a basic requirement?

The frustrating answer is that we do have some of the necessary tools, and most of the technologies, but as a community we lack “capacity” if that means manpower and funds. The problem is a technical one of accessing the older data in useable formats; it was generated by the universal change in detector technology from photography to electronic device, an exciting development in efficiency and scope that heralded a new era of research capability and data management, archiving and sharing, but it left pre-digital photographic data right out of the picture. Developments of that nature should have made research more inclusive, instead of the seriously exclusive picture that is currently seen. The longer the situation prevails, the greater the inertia and scepticism to be overcome. Fortunately, some of the challenges are being tackled successfully, the most productive to date being the dasch project (dasch.rc.fas.harvard.edu) at Harvard College Observatory to digitize and share all the images and objective-prism spectra from its collection (the world's biggest) of over 0.5M large plates. The DAO has commenced a programme to digitize its collection of > 16,000 high-dispersion spectra (~70% are good enough to scan and convert), and to scan plates from its larger but older Cassegrain collection of > 90,000 spectra upon request. The instrument for this Herculean task is its own PDS, now suitably upgraded to meet the demands of speed and accuracy; the DAO has also acquired and upgraded a second PDS, with which it plans to share the load. Some smaller observatories in Europe are trying with less sophisticated equipment, but the rest have not the resources to give such data transformation any priority. Despite the unquestionable advantages, it is still necessary to convince colleagues that the medium is not the message, and that the scientific need comes before technological expedience.

Astronomical plate archives created on the basis of numerous observations at many observatories are important part of the astronomical heritage. Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) plate archive consists of 37,000 photographic plates and films, obtained at 2.6m telescope, 1m and 0.5m Schmidt telescopes and other smaller ones during 1947--1991. In 2002-2005, the famous Markarian Survey (First Byurakan Survey, FBS) 2000 plates were digitized and the Digitized FBS (DFBS) was created. New science projects have been conducted based on these low-dispersion spectroscopic material. In 2015, we have started a project on the whole BAO Plate Archive digitization, creation of electronic database and its scientific usage. The project will run during 3 years in 2015--2017 and the final result will be an electronic database and online interactive sky map to be used for further research projects.

Astronomy was one of the most important sciences in the ancient world. It was rooted in naked eye observations and primitive stone instruments for astrometric measurements to determine the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets and some stars that had both practical and sacred meaning. That is why the majority of archaeoastronomical monuments are simultaneously observatories and sanctuaries, with burials and altars.

In this paper we report on a 15-year project to construct a comprehensive catalogue of Hawaiian starnames documented in historical sources, published during the IAU General Assembly. Hawaiian star knowledge represents incomparable intangible heritage relating to Polynesian navigation in the Pacific. It both informs and motivates living cultural traditions aiming to reconstruct and build upon such knowledge.

In this presentation we address issues relating to the astronomical heritage of contemporary aboriginal groups and other minorities. We deal specially with intangible astronomical heritage and its particularities. Also, we study (from ethnographic experience with Aboriginal groups, Creoles and Europeans in the Argentine Chaco) the conflicts referring to the different ways in which the natives' knowledge and practice are categorized by the natives themselves, by scientists, state politicians, professional artists and NGOs. Furthermore, we address several cases that illustrate these kinds of conflicts. We aim to analyze the complexities of patrimonial policies when they are applied to practices and representations of contemporary communities involved in power relations with national states and the global system. The essentialization of identities, the folklorization of representations and practices, and the fossilization of aboriginal peoples are some of the risks of applying the label “cultural heritage” without a careful consideration of each specific case.

In particular we suggest possible ways in which the international scientific community could collaborate to improve the agenda of national states instead of reproducing colonial prejudices. In this way, we aim to contribute to the promotion of respect for ethnic and religious minorities.

Gufa, one of the traditional rituals, has been performed in Nepal since time immemorial by indigenous Newar people. In Gufa, a young girl who just had her first period is hidden in a sunless room for twelve consecutive days. This paper expounds the importance of ritual and its nexus with astronomy especially while interpreting how the daily motions of celestial objects have influenced the establishment and devolvement of a deep-rooted custom of Gufa.

We investigate religious myths related to astronomy from different cultures in an attempt to identify common subjects and characteristics. The paper focuses on astronomy in religion. The initial review covers records from Holy books about sky related superstitious beliefs and cosmological understanding. The purpose of this study is to introduce sky related religious and national traditions (particularly based on different calendars; Solar or Lunar). We carried out a comparative study of astronomical issues contained in a number of Holy books. We come to the conclusion that the perception of celestial objects varies from culture to culture, and from religion to religion and preastronomical views had a significant impact on humankind, particularly on religious diversities. We prove that Astronomy is the basis of cultures, and that national identity and mythology and religion were formed due to the special understanding of celestial objects.

Astronomy is part of our culture. Astronomy cannot be isolated in a classroom, it has to be integrated in the normal life of teachers and students. “Astronomy in the city” is an important part of NASE (Network for Astronomy School Education) (Ros & Hemenway 2012). In each NASE course we introduce a “working group session” chaired by a local expert in cultural astronomy. The chair introduces several examples of astronomy in their city and after that, the participants have the opportunity to discuss and mention several similar examples. After this session all participants visit one or two sites proposed and introduced by the chair.

After more than 5 years using this method we visited and discovered several examples of astronomy in the city:

•Astronomy in ancient typical clothes.

•Archaeological temples oriented according to the sunrise or set.

•Petroglyphs with astronomical meaning.

•Astronomy in monuments.

•Sundials.

•Oriented Colonial churches.

•Astronomy in Souvenirs.

In any case, teachers and students discover that Astronomy is part of their everyday life. They can take into account the Sun's path when they park their car or when they take a bus “what is the best part in order to be seat in the shadow during the journey?” The result is motivation to go with “open eyes” when they are in the street and they try to get more and more information about their surroundings.

In summary, one of the main activities is to introduce local cultural aspects in NASE astronomy courses. The participants can discover a new approach to local culture from an astronomical point of view.

Scholarly publishing and its procedures have evolved rapidly, forcefully, and incredibly. Technical advances in the production and promotion of science content have dramatically augmented the visibility and reach, deepened the impact and intensified the thrust of science journal content. These changes range from checking text on perforated tapes to pit stop; from hot metal types to CTP; and from Gutenberg to colour digital printers. Intrinsic and inextricable to this revolutionary aspect of evolution in scholarly publishing is the evolution of library services in astronomy which catapulted library resources from preprints on shelves to customised digital repositories and from communicating observational data through postal telegrams to Tablets. What impact does this unique blend of revolutionary advances have on science and society, what are the consequent challenges, and what are the opportunities that can metamorphose from challenges inherent in the power and potential of the ‘published word’?

The perspectives expressed in this paper stem from learning experiences of the authors at the Indian Academy of Sciences, publishers of ten science journals including the Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, and at the Raman Research Institute Library (in which Astronomy is one of the core subjects for research)

Most researchers today are bombarded with spam email solicitations from questionable scholarly publishers. These emails solicit article manuscripts, editorial board service, and even ad hoc peer reviews. These “predatory” publishers exploit the scholarly publishing process, patterning themselves after legitimate scholarly publishers yet performing little or no peer review and quickly accepting submitted manuscripts and collecting fees from submitting authors. These counterfeit publishers and journals have published much junk science? especially in the field of cosmology? threatening the integrity of the academic record. This paper examines the current state of predatory publishing and advises researchers how to navigate scholarly publishing to best avoid predatory publishers and other scholarly publishing-related perils.

We present here evidence for the existence of a citation advantage within astrophysics for papers that link to data. Using simple measures based on publication data from NASA Astrophysics Data System we find a citation advantage for papers with links to data receiving on the average significantly more citations per paper than papers without links to data. Furthermore, using INSPEC and Web of Science databases we investigate whether either papers of an experimental or theoretical nature display different citation behavior.