Commission 8: Positional Astronomy

The scope of this report continues in the same vein as those made previously for Commission 8: wide-angle, optical astrometry with astrometry involving photographic techniques still being the province of Commission 24. However, the successes of new instrumentation and techniques, in particular Hipparcos and ground-based astrometry with CCD’s, now require a more integrated approach. It is with this in mind that plans are underway to combine Commissions 8 and 24, and it is hoped that by the General Assembly in the year 2000 this integration will be achieved.