• The Society bestows several honours, details of which are listed below.

• Lists of previous prizewinners, medallists, and lecturers are available.

• To make nominations for awards, click here.

• How awards are made. The Council sets up Awards Committees from among Society members to advise on the merits of candidates nominated for medals. 
The remit of the 'A' Awards Committee is astronomy and astrophysics, including cosmology, astroparticle physics, astrobiology, cosmochemistry, etc. It considers candidates for the Gold Medal, the Eddington Medal, the Herschel Medal, and the Jackson-Gwilt Medal. It also provides recommendations to Council for the George Darwin Lecturer, for new Honorary Fellows of the Society, for the Fowler Award in Astronomy, the Group Achievement Award and for the RAS Award for Service.
The remit of the 'G' Awards Committee is geophysics, solar physics, solar-terrestrial physics, and planetary and meteoritic sciences. It considers candidates for the Gold Medal, the Chapman Medal and the Price Medal. It also provides recomendations to Council for the Harold Jeffreys Lecturer, for new Honorary Fellows of the Society, for the Fowler Award in Geophysics, the Group Achievement Award and for the RAS Award for Service.

Medals

The Society awards a number of medals:

• The Gold Medal: the Society's highest honour,one available for award annually for achievement in geophysics, solar physics, solar-terrestrial physics, or planetary sciences (the 'G' award), and one for achievement in astronomy, cosmology, astroparticle physics, cosmochemistry, etc. (the 'A' award).
• The Eddington Medal: available for award every other year, for investigations of outstanding merit in theoretical astrophysics;
• The Herschel Medal: available for award  every other year, for investigations of outstanding merit in observational astrophysics;
• The Chapman Medal: available for award every other year, for investigations of outstanding merit in solar-terrestrial physics, including geomagnetism and aeronomy;
• The Price Medal: available for award every other year, for investigations of outstanding merit in solid-earth geophysics, oceanography, or planetary sciences;
• The Jackson-Gwilt Medal: available for award annually, for the invention, improvement, or development of astronomical instrumentation or techniques; for achievement in observational astronomy; or for achievement in research into the history of astronomy

Prof. J. Silk being presented with the Gold Medal ('A') at the National Astronomy Meeting in Belfast on 3 April 2008 by the President, Prof. Michael Rowan-Robinson.

Named Lectures

The Society invites distinguished speakers to give its major `named lectures':

• The Harold Jeffreys Lecture (given annually, on a topic in geophysics, solar physics, solar-terrestrial physics, or planetary sciences)
• The George Darwin Lecture (given annually, on a topic in astronomy, cosmology, astroparticle physics, etc.)
• The Gerald Whitrow Lecture (given biennially, on a topic in cosmology, usually with particular reference to philosophical apects)

(The Society also nominates the Sir Norman Lockyer Lecturer).

Honorary Fellowships

The RAS may honour any person eminent in the fields of astronomy or geophysics by election as an Honorary Fellow of the Society. This is typically in recognition of services to astronomical and geophysical sciences such as distinguished leadership of a school, observatory or laboratory; outstanding services to national or international scientific organizations; exceptionally important work in editing scientific publications; influential work in education and public outreach in these sciences; or specially outstanding distinguished work in the history of these sciences.

Fowler Prizes

The RAS Award for Service to Astronomy and Geophysics

The Group Achievement Award

This award recognizes outstanding achievement by large consortia in any branch of astronomy or geophysics where it is not appropriate to present, jointly, one of the other awards of the Society. The Award, in the form of an inscribed certificate presented to each member of the consortium, will be made from time to time, although nominations will be sought annually.

Thesis Prizes

The Society awards annual prizes for the best theses in astronomy and astrophysics (the Michael Penston Prize) and solar-system sciences and geophysics (the  Keith Runcorn Prize*). Both prizes are sponsored by the publishers of the Society's journals, Wiley-Blackwell
* previously the RAS Blackwell Prize

2011 RAS Fellowships

These postdoctoral Fellowships, tenable in the UK, provide support for 3 years  to enable outstanding research workers to conduct research in any of the disciplines that the RAS advances viz. astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of these sciences. Applicants, of any nationality, who are ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, either must have obtained a recognized PhD degree ( or equivalent)  no more than 5 years before the commencement of the award, or have taken the ‘viva’ examination for the award of a PhD ( or equivalent) by the application deadline.  

This postdoctoral Fellowship, tenable in the UK, provides support for 3 years  to enable an outstanding research worker to conduct a self-directed programme of research in any astronomical topic. Any person holding a doctorate from a recognized institution of higher education at the time of taking up the award is eligible: applicants need not be UK citizens, nor Fellows of the RAS (although Fellowships are not normally awarded to scientists already holding a long-term or tenured post).

The Winton Capital Awards

Two prizes, sponsored by Winton Capital, of £1,000 each  for research by a Post Doctoral Fellow in a UK institution  in respectively astronomy ('A') & geophysics ('G') whose career has shown the most promising development. At the time of nomination candidates, in normal circumstances, should have completed their PhD no more than 5 years previously. The areas of eligibility for the awards designated 'A' and 'G' are the same as for the Gold Medals, outlined above.

National Honours

While anyone may propose a candidate for a national honour to the Ceremonial Secretariat at the Cabinet Office, in appropriate cases the RAS will be prepared to add its weight to a candidature by making the nomination in the name of the Society. It will do this where the proposed candidate is pre-eminent in his or her field of astronomy or geophysics through research, teaching or service to the scientific community.

Details of available honours and the criteria used to evaluate nominations can be readhere. To enable the RAS to reach a decision to act as a nominator  please download and complete the appropriate sections of the application form (below) and send it to the Executive Secretary to reach him no later than 31 July in any year. Please note that, to preserve strict confidentiality, apart from acknowledging receipt of the nomination there is unlikely to be any other communication from the RAS.

Honours application form.pdf

Send to: Executive Secretary, Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BQ, UK