IOAA 2024: Registration Process, Eligibility Criteria, Selection Process, Result
IOAA stands for International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. It is an annual event for students who perform very well academically around the world.
Established in Thailand in the year 2006, it was an initiative by five countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, China and Poland. It is one of the most prestigious Astrophysics Olympiads in the world.
Every country has its different own selection process for IOAA. In India, only those candidates can apply who have passed the NSEA, INAO, OSC, PDT/ PDC exam.
Participating Countries
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- China
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Colombia
- Paraguay
- Ecuador
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Kazakhstan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malaysia
- Nepal
- Norway
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Rep of Belarus
- Republic of Korea
- Romania
- Russia
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Thailand
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Vietnam
IOAA 2024 Important Dates
The dates of the IOAA 2024 examination depend upon the exam’s stage.
1st Stage – National Standard Examination in Astronomy (NSEA)
| Main Events | Tentative Dates |
| Starting of registration | To be notified later |
| Last date of registration | To be notified later |
| Last date of payment | To be notified later |
| Examination Date | To be notified later |
| Date of result | To be notified later |
| Displaying of the final list of candidates selected | To be notified later |
2nd Stage – Indian National Astronomy Olympiad (INAO)
| Main Events | Tentative Dates |
| Last date of registration | To be notified later |
| Starting of commencement of INAO | To be notified later |
| Releasing of Answer Keys | To be notified later |
| Last date to receive feedback on answers | To be notified later |
| Declaration of result | To be notified later |
| Last date of re-evaluation | To be notified later |
| Final Scores/ OCSC list publication | To be notified later |
3rd Stage – Orientation cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in astronomy
| Main Events | Tentative Dates |
| Mathematics Exam | To be notified later |
| Astronomy Exam | To be notified later |
| Junior Science Exam | To be notified later |
| Physics Exam | To be notified later |
| Chemistry | To be notified later |
| Biology | To be notified later |
4th Stage – Pre-departure Training Camp (PDT) for IOAA
| Main Events | Tentative Dates |
| Starting of pre-departure training camp (PDT) for IOAA | To be notified later |
| Complete of the pre-departure training camp (PDT) for IOAA | To be notified later |
| Departure of candidates | To be notified later |
5th Stage – International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA 2024)
| Main Events | Tentative Dates |
| Opening Ceremony | To be notified later |
| P1: Data Analysis Examination | To be notified later |
| P2: Solar Examination | To be notified later |
| P3: Team Competition | To be notified later |
| P4: Theorical Examination | To be notified later |
| P5: Planetarium Examination | To be notified later |
| Activities and Culture | To be notified later |
| Closing Ceremony | To be notified later |
IOAA 2024 Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria for IOAA 2024 are explained below.
- The age of a candidate should be less than 20 as of 30th June 2024.
- Participating students should not be attending higher education.
Note: The rest of the eligibility criteria depend upon the country to which you belong. In India, You can write IOAA only if you clear the first national round (NSEA) conducted by Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT)
IOAA 2024 Registration Process
Only pre-registered member can be able to submit the registration form. International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics committee will send a Google form to the registered contact from the pre-registration form.
- Apart from the Google form, authorities will also send an excel spreadsheet to the registered contact from the pre-registration form to be filled with specific information of all participants.
- The team looking to participate needs to fill and submit an excel spreadsheet before the last date.
- The excel file that you will send must include photos of all the members of the team as well as copies of the main page of passport or other government ID that shows the date of birth of each member.
- Please note that there would be an additional column in order to include a photo of any proof showing that they did not complete their high school education before the start of the current year.
- You should also include audio files in the spreadsheet with the correct pronunciation of each member’s name.
- The person reading the names in the audio file should read out the name slowly and clearly and use the following format.
- Team – Country
- Main Team – Leader 1 Name, Leader 2 Name
- Leaders should be followed by observers
- Students (main team first followed by a guest team if any)
- Exam Supervisor
Check Aakash ANTHE details
Selection Process of IOAA 2024 from India
As mentioned above, the Selection process or opportunity to take part in the IOAA 2024 depends upon the country to which you belong. We are sharing the selection stages for Indian students.
- 1st Stage – National Standard Examination in Astronomy (NSEA)
- 2nd Stage – Indian National Astronomy Olympiad (INAO)
- 3rd Stage – Orientation cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in Astronomy
- 4th Stage – Pre-departure Training Camp for IOAA
- 5th Stage – International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA)
IOAA 2024 Competition Pattern
Broadly, the competition is divided into the following two parts – Theoretical and practical Competitions
| Theoretical Competition | Practical Competition |
| The theoretical competition consists of short and long questions. 15 short questions and 2 or 3 questions will be asked | The organized will provide a list of activities. The activities will include the following things.
|
- Duration of the completion – 10 days including arrival and departure days
- Time Allotted – 5 hours for practical and 5 hours for theoretical
- Marking Pattern – 50% for theoretical paper and 50% (25% data analysis and 25% observation) of the total marks.
IOAA Syllabus 2024
The syllabus of IOAA competition is quite vast. However, you may check the important topics as given below.
Theoretical Section
- Basic Astrophysics – Celestial Mechanics, Electromagnetic Theory & Quantum Physics, Thermodynamics, Spectroscopy and Atomic Physics, Nuclear Physics
- Coordinates and Times – Celestial Sphere, Concept of Time
- Solar System – The Sun, The Solar System, Space Exploration, Phenomena
- Stars – Stellar Properties, Stellar Interior and Atmospheres, Stellar Evolution
- Steller Systems – Binary Star Systems, Exoplanets, Star Clusters, Milky Way Galaxy, Interstellar Medium, Galaxies, Accretion Processes
- Cosmology – Elementary Cosmology
- Instrumentation and Space Technologies – Multi-wavelength Astronomy, Instrumentation
Practical Section
- Observation section – naked-eye observations, usage of sky maps and catalogues, application of coordinate systems in the sky, magnitude estimation, estimation of angular separation, usage of basic astronomical instruments-telescopes and various detectors for observations.
- Data analysis sections – Proper identification of error sources, Proper use of graph papers with different scales, Basic statistical analysis of the observational data, Knowledge of the most common experimental techniques for measuring physical quantities.
Check List of scholarships and olympiads
Awards and Prizes
- After Olympiad, the result of IOAA will release online through the official website.
- The link to check the result will be updated on the homepage of the website.
- The IOAA 2024 result will consist of information such as candidate’s performance, Rank, etc.
FAQs
No, it is not possible to apply for IOAA without clearing the NSEA, INAO, etc. exam.
5 students will be part of a team.
Chorzow, Poland
The questions and activities will be derived from the following subjects – Basic Astrophysics, Coordinates and Times, Solar System, Stars, Steller Systems, Cosmology, and Instrumentation and Space Technologies.
I have heard that the IOAA 2022 will be conducted in Kutaisi, Georgia. Given the proximity of a major war in neighboring Russia and Ukraine and the history of a recent war between Russia and Georgia with continued border clashes in separatist regions in Georgia, is it possible for the IOAA committee to reconsider a different location to hold the IOAA competition for 2022?