4 Comments

When dealing with this kind of statistical distributions, it is important to refrain from pushing the analysis of the data too far and to stay at an appropriate level: a global analysis, rather than a location-per-location perusal.

Apart from strong densities in Europe and the Eastern half of the U.S.A., the most striking feature - common to all categories - is the desperate emptiness of most of the African continent. This situation did not improve since we published earlier maps (Heck 1991) and such a persistence is really disturbing. A similar comment is of application to most of the so-called third-world countries. Astronomical activities are certainly linked to a comparatively wealthy level of evolution (in the socio-historical context) reached by countries or societies who have always more urgent priorities to be satisfied first. What is really alarming though, is that, if we compare the distributions presented here with that of Stroobant et al. (1907) reprinted in Heck (1991), the overall aspect did not change significantly over the past century. This should be a real concern not only for every astronomer, but well beyond our science, because it tells certainly something much more fundamental about long-term higher education in those parts of the world and on our way to deal with it even if, over the same range of time, a few additional observing facilities have been built in propitious parts of the world, especially in the Southern hemisphere.

The general aspects of the corresponding distributions between the three categories retained in this study are similar, with some nuances. In Europe for instance, France has comparatively less professional observing facilities and public observatories, but the difference disappears at the level of associations. The density of public observatories in the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech and Slovak Republics testifies of cultural components and/or deliberate policies. Knowing the dynamism, facilities, and the generally wealthy level in the US, one would expect more observing sites linked to public observatories and associations, but - and this is another cultural component - more is carried out there at the individual level as examplified in each issue of journals such as Astronomy or Sky & Telescope.

The distributions of public observatories, planetariums and associations has to be seen as much more than anecdotical. When we were publishing two separate directories for the professional institutions and for the associations (respectively IDPAI and IDAAS, predecessors of the StarGuides - see Heck 1991), many professional institutions were purchasing a copy of the second one. Apart from a standard library acquisition, identified purposes were the organization of observational campaigns involving amateurs round the world and strong collaborations for educational activities as well as interface with the public and with official bodies. Also, in these times of restricted funding for fundamental sciences, the critical importance of all these organizations must be - more than ever - fully appreciated.

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to all persons and organizations who contributed over the past quarter of the century to the very substance of the master files used here by returning the questionnaires, by providing the relevant documentation, by participating in the various procedures of maintenance, validation and verification of the information, or otherwise. Our thanks go also to Emmanuel Chereul and to Ilunga Mwana Umbela for their kind introduction to IDL's mapping capabilities.