The International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics is an international competition for high-school students along the lines of the other International Science Olympiads, covering the fields of Astronomy and Astrophysics. First IOAA was held in 2007 in Thailand and each year saw an increase in number of participating countries.
Participating students, who must not be attending higher education and must be under the age of 20 on 30th June of the year of the event, solve theoretical, data analysis, observational problems individually and in teams under controlled and timed conditions over a period of 10 days.
Problem tasks (conforming to the Statutes and Syllabus) are set by the local organizers, verified by the team leaders of the participating countries, and presented to the participating students in their own languages. Problems are designed to reflect current astronomical knowledge as well as test the students’ abilities. Medals and other prizes are awards to the most successful participants as specified in the Statutes.
Additionally, each event includes cultural and social occasions and excursions designed to widen the students’ experience.
The host country covers all costs (accommodation, food, excursions) of the primary team from each participating country (consisting of up to 5 students and up to 2 adult team leaders) during the event, except for travel and visa costs to the host country. In addition, the host country may at its discretion accept Observers and (secondary) Guest Teams, specifying a fee for each to cover costs.
More information available at ioaastrophysics.org
This year, IOAA is cancelled in its traditional format due to health concerns over the CoViD-19 pandemic. The online competition GeCAA is run instead.
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