The Astronomical Society of India is planning to bring out a Vision Document that aims to lay out the collective vision of the Indian astronomy community for the next two decades. We believe that the community has reached a stage (in terms of strength and impact), where it is important to formulate a consensus about the most compelling scientific questions for the next decade or more. This effort will also serve as an exercise for our larger community to identify opportunities to work together such that the whole is larger than the sum of its parts, strategize to enhance our global impact, and form a vehicle for advocacy with the Government and funding agencies.
The Vision Document will strive to cover a large breadth of topics including Solar & heliospheric physics, Solar System objects, Exoplanets, Star formation & ISM, Compact objects, Stellar populations, Milky Way & satellites, Nearby galaxies, Galaxies clusters & IGM, Supermassive black holes and AGNs, Cosmology, Gravity, Magnetic fields & radiative processes, Transient phenomena, Observing facilities, Computational facilities & techniques, Human resource development as well as Astronomy & society. This Vision Document will extend the planning effort which led to the Mega Science Vision Document in Astronomy initiated by the Office of the PSA, Govt. of India to all areas of Astronomy & Astrophysics.
It is envisioned that the document will comprise of many Chapters pertaining to the sub-fields of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The Committee has identified various Working Groups (WG) and Convenors for the WGs who will be responsible for the assemblage of each Chapter in consultation with all the relevant persons of the Indian Astronomy Community. The final vision document will be authored by all those who will contribute, and not be limited to the Conveners and/or WG members. In addition, ASI solicits and welcomes inputs from all young Indians who are currently at postdoc level in different parts of the globe.
The information on Chapters and WG members can be found from the link. In case you’re interested in contributing to one or more chapters of the ASI Vision Document, we request you to provide your inputs through the forms available here. All relevant contributions will be acknowledged in the document. The last date to receive inputs is 15th Dec 2022.
To aid the preparation of this Vision Document, we are also organizing a discussion meeting of WG members titled the Future of Indian Astronomy at ICTS-TIFR, Bengaluru from 31 Oct to 02 Nov, 2022 in hybrid mode.