The International Meteor Organization (IMO) was established in 1988. Over the past 25 years, the IMO managed to collect an impressive amount of observational data and distributed lots of information via its publications and via the very successful International Meteor Conferences. These efforts contributed to major improvements in many aspects of meteor astronomy in the last quarter of a century. You can also become a part of these remarkable achievements by joining the IMO!
The need for international cooperation to study meteors was understood as soon as the first meteor observations were collected in the early 19th century. Indeed, the history of meteor astronomy is marked by numerous attempts to establish such international cooperation, but, unfortunately, most of these failed in the planning stage, while others barely survived for a few years. In the 1980s, however, the time seemed ripe for a new attempt, as an informal international network had emerged rather organically the decade before. Nevertheless, the founders of the IMO were very conscious of the reasons why previous attempts had failed, and wanted to avoid the same pitfalls at all cost. Therefore, they defined the IMO as an association with a minimalistic organizational structure consisting of individual persons rather than national, regional, or local societies. The IMO never had national representatives and has always worked directly with its members. This mode of operation proved to be a success formula, resulting in a genuinely international organization of which you can also be part!
We invite you to join the IMO: read more about IMO membership, fill out the registration form, and pay the required dues, which are kept low to make membership affordable to all. In 2013, you will receive six issues of “WGN”, the bi-monthly Journal of the IMO. You are also invited to participate at the International Meteor Conference, 22-25 August, 2013, in Poznan, Poland.
If you are already an IMO member and have not yet renewed for 2013, you are hereby invited to do so. Do not fill out a registration form for a renewal – your renewal information will be added to your existing record. By replying to the confirmation of your renewal, you can inform us of any changes.