Occasionally, an action by government that could have a negative (or positive) impact on astronomy must be stopped (or supported). At these times, a rapid, grassroots-level action on the part of the AAS membership can create a truly positive result in Congress or in other areas of government.

When one of these times arrives, the Policy Fellow works with the Executive Officer and the Committee on Astronomy and Public Policy creates an AAS Action Alert. This is then emailed to the appropriate sub-group of the AAS membership.

This email alert system is not utilized lightly. The alert system is only used when direct action on the part of our members themselves will have a tremendous impact. Typically, the action called for is writing a letter to or calling legislators on a specific issue. The alerts are structured for readability and ease of understanding. Comments on the alerts are always welcome.