The determination of the speeds with which the stars are moving toward us or away from us (their radial velocities) began with an error. To explain why stars had different colors, Christian Doppler at the University of Prague proposed in 1842 that sta . . .

Carl V.L. Charlier (1862-1934), who applied statistical analysis to the positions and motions of the stars, is famed for his hierarchical model of the universe, in which clustering extends to larger and larger systems.

Quasars and active galaxies dominated the discussion at the Society's 90th annual meeting (held June 26-30, 1979, at Sonoma State University) but there was much more: Jupiter and its satellites, wine and cheese tasting, a 3-D film of Mars, and the pre . . .