Congreso en Tenerife, España para aficionados y profesionales

Discover the Cosmos and Change the World

20-25 June, 2011
Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

The principal aim of the conference is to provide a forum for the expanding amateur and professional astronomy communities. In view of the vertiginous rate of scientific and technical development at astronomical observatories the world over, Discover the Cosmos and Change the World will be an important forum to encourage collaboration between amateur and professional groups working in different countries. Amateur and professional astronomers from all over the world are welcome to contribute to the meeting. The participation of young astronomers and students is particularly encouraged. A special session focusing on astronomy education, outreach and the popularization of astronomy will also be arranged. High school students, teachers, amateurs and general educators are welcome to participate. A full-day excursion to the Teide and La Palma Observatories, home to the 10.4-metre optical telescope (the largest in the world), will be arranged as part of the conference programme. The conference itself is a part of the STARMUS Festival.

The STARMUS Festival, a major science outreach event celebrating astronomy and the space sciences, will take place at the Magma conference centre on the island of Tenerife during the week 20-25 June, 2011.

The Festival will unite distinguished individuals (cosmonauts, scientists, astro-photographers, musicians and artists) to join hands in presenting to the public, in a vibrant and informative way, the latest advances in our study of the Cosmos. Among the invited speakers will be Nobel Prize winners George Smith, Jack Szostak and George Smoot; physicist Kip Thorne, astronomer Jill Tarter of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) campaign; evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, musician and astronomer Brian May, and many other foremost scientists. East meets West with a cluster of pioneer cosmonauts and astronauts (including Valentina Tereshkova, Alexei Leonov, Buzz Aldrin, Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, Claude Nicollier and Charlie Duke) to celebrate man’s first half-century in space. From the musical world will be the legendary Tangerine Dream and well-known Hollywood composer Graeme Revell, who has produced soundtracks for more than 80 movies including The Chronicles of Riddick, Pitch Black, Body of Evidence, Collateral Damage, The Crow and Sin City.

Then there’s the SETI Zone hosted by Jill Tarter, which will show the public how to detect and even to decode alien messages. Veteran Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov will present a space art and 3D astronomy exhibition, and renowned astro-photographer David Malin will host an astrophotography exhibition and competition. The Festival will be topped by a star party on the peaks of Tenerife (2200 metres high!), a round table discussion on our future in space, web-cast live from the dome of the 10.4-metre GTC for the Festival participants, and the Tangerine Dream concert Sonic Universe with special guest artists.

The Festival has the backing of the International Astronomical Union, UNESCO, GRANTECAN, the Starlight dark skies campaign and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). Full information is available at the Starmus Festival website: www.starmus.com

Discover the Cosmos and Change the World

Scientific Organizing Committee

* Robert Williams (STScI, USA)
* Michel Mayor (University of Geneva, Switzerland)
* Leslie Sage (University of Maryland, USA)
* Garik Israelian (Chair, IAC, Spain)
* Jill Tarter (SETI Institute, USA)
* Rafael Rebolo (IAC, Spain)
* Adam Burrows (University of Princeton, USA)


Conference Format:

The conference will consist of a single plenary session with 40-minute Invited talks, 15-minute contributed talks, posters and one-minute statements. A preliminary programme is now available on the website.

There will be a limited number of panels available in a room adjacent to the conference hall for display of posters during the whole duration of the Conference. Individual panels (90 cm wide) will be provided.

You will be informed whether it will be oral or poster in accordance with the decision of the SOC, and this information will be available on our Web site.

Call for Abstracts:

The Scientific Organizing Committee of Discover the Cosmos and Change the World: Amateur-Professional Partnership in Astronomy calls for papers in all fields of astronomy and astrophysics. All abstracts must be submitted through online abstract submission system, which is already open. To avoid technical problems, early submission is strongly recommended.

To send an abstract, first of all you have to register yourself. Once registered, you can log in to your personal account and add talk or poster abstracts, as well as modify all of your personal data at any moment. Deadline: 1 May, 2011.

Financial Support:

A limited number of grants will be available for students. Those who wish to apply should fill in the STARMUS Grant application Form. Please submit your abstract online not later than 1 May, 2011.

The grant consists of a refund of the registration fee and/or accommodation costs, and/or airplane tickets. Following the rules of the European Commission, we warn in advance that original receipts are required for any refund.

Conference Venue & Hotel Information:

Details of the conference venue and hotels are now available on the website and will be updated regularly.The sessions will take place at the Magma Art & Congress Centre:

Address:

Magma Arte & Congresos

Avda. de los Pueblos s/n

C.P. 38660, Costa Adeje

Tenerife, España.

http://www.magmatenerife.es/

Visa Applications

Spain has an agreement for visa exceptions with many countries, such as:

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Guatemala, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Switzerland, Uruguay, USA and Venezuela. Citizens from these countries do not need a visa to enter and stay in Spain for up to 90 days.

No visa is required for citizens of countries of the European Union. Citizens from all other countries do need a tourist visa to enter Spain.

This kind of visa provides coverage for attending scientific conferences seminars or meetings. In order to request a tourist visa, you have to contact the Spanish Embassy/Consulate nearest to your city.

This must be done several months before the conference is set to take place, since visa applications can take quite some time.

Letter of invitation

We will provide a letter of invitation for those participants who request one. If you need such a letter, please send us an e-mail (discover@starmus.com) with the following information:

1. Full name, passport number and country of issue.
2. Institution and preliminary title of communication.
3. Full mailing address and a fax number to send the letter.
4. Names and passport numbers of your accompanying persons, if any.

Please, be sure to provide your name and the names of accompanying persons exactly as written in their passports.

Important Dates:

1 February, 2011 Online Abstract Submission open
1 February, 2011 Online Registration Payment open

1 May, 2011 Deadline for Grants Applications
1 May, 2011 Deadline of Abstract Submission

15 May, 2011 Notification of Grants
15 May, 2011 Final Programme release
15 May, 2011 Deadline for Hotel Booking & Registration

Payment

20-25 June, 2011 STARMUS Festival
30 September, 2011 Deadline for submission of papers for the

Proceedings

Local Organizing Committee (LOC)

Inaki Soroa (Chair, Executive Manager)
Eva Untiedt (Secretary)
Miger Lorenzo (Community Manager and Public Relations)
VIAJES CAPITAL (Technical Resident Office)
DOSPASSOS (Communication & Public Relations)

Postal Address

GRANTECAN
STARMUS
Vía Láctea, s/n
38200 San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife)
Canary Islands - SPAIN

Telephone: +34 922 315031 (ext 507)

Fax: +34 922 315032

Email: info@starmus.com