ELSA conference 2010

Scientific Programme

Catherine Turon — 2010-06-30T11:24:53Z

Monday 7 June

- The ELSA conference

Second and final announcement

Catherine Turon — 2010-06-02T17:40:20Z

Meudon, 27 May 2010

Dear Colleague,

Please find below the second, and final, announcement of the

ELSA conference 2010
Gaia at the frontiers of astrometry
Sèvres, France, 7-11 June 2010

1- Final programme and list of posters
2- Proceedings
3- Visits organised during the Symposium: registrations due *before* Friday 4 June.

All informations are available from http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/.

Apologies if you receive this message more than once.

Best wishes,
I am looking forward to seeing you

Catherine Turon

*************************************************************

1-The final programme, including invited and contributed talks and the timing, is now available from http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/spip.php?rubrique11

The final list of invited and contributed talks and of posters, and links to the corresponding abstracts, are available from http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/confdb/lists/contributions.php.

A booklet of abstracts is available from http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/spip.php?article3.

2- The Symposium proceedings will be published by EDP Sciences, in the EAS Series.
The number of pages is
– 6 pages per invited talk
– 4 pages per contributed talk and poster.
[rouge]---->> deadline for the reception of manuscripts: 30 September 2010[/rouge]

The Latex package and instructions are available at
– http://www.eas-journal.org/content/view/136/184/lang,en/
and
– http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/spip.php?article27.

3. Visits:
Two visits are organised:
– Wednesday 9 June afternoon: Department of the definition of the atomic time at BIPM (Bureau International des Poids et Mesures), with Felicitas Arias. Limited number of participants. First registered, first served.
– Friday 11 June afternoon: Paris Observatory, the historical building, Bâtiment Perrault, with Dr Suzanne Débarbat.

Interested participants should write to Annick Oger [annick.oger obspm.fr] as soon as possible, and in any case before Friday 4 June.

Aim of the meeting

2010-04-15T11:20:08Z

The Symposium "Gaia: at the frontiers of astrometry" was the closing conference of the European Marie Curie Research Training Network "ELSA". It has been held in Sèvres (near Paris and Meudon) from [rouge]7 to 11 June 2010[/rouge]. The network started on 1 October 2006 for a duration of four years. Its overall objectives were to develop the theoretical understanding and practical analysis tools of importance for the European Space Agency's astrometric mission Gaia (to be launched in 2012) and to foster the development of a new generation of researchers in the area of space astrometry. It was a coordinated action between 14 European institutes involved in the preparation of the European Space Agency mission Gaia.

The objective of the Symposium was to present the results obtained within the network on the various aspects of the preparation of the data analysis and scientific exploitation of the Gaia mission. It has also been the opportunity to have presentations on the status of the mission, on aspects of the scientific exploitation not covered within the network, and on the development of complementary theoretical tools or follow-up ground-based observations. Finally, many of the problems and questions encountered during the preparation of Gaia were put in the 2015 context.

[rouge]Proceedings[/rouge]
The Proceedings are published by EDP Sciences in the EAS Publications Series,
[rouge]Volume 45, 2010[/rouge].
Editors: C. Turon, F. Meynadier and F. Arenou.

Detailed information on the publication and the table of contents are available here.

All papers are available on-line from http://www.eas-journal.org/index.php?option=com_toc&url=/articles/eas/abs/2010/06/contents/contents.html

The files of the presentations and posters are available here.

The booklet of abstracts is available here.

First announcement

Catherine Turon — 2010-02-08T14:14:15Z

Meudon, 3 February 2010

Dear Colleague,

Please find below the first announcement of the

ELSA conference 2010
Gaia at the frontiers of astrometry
Sèvres, France, 7-11 June 2010

Registration is now open and you are kindly invited to register and submit abstracts for contributed posters or talks before 16 April 2010. Early registration closes on 16 April 2010. All abstracts will be reviewed by the SOC and the selection will be announced by 30 April 2010.

Apologies if you receive this message more than once.

Complete information at http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/

Key dates
3 February 2010 : 1st announcement
15 March 2010 : application for grants
5 April 2010 : grant notification
16 April 2010 : early registration and abstracts submission
30 April 2010 : selection of oral contribution and posters
18 May 2010 : deadline of late registration

Objectives of the Symposium
The Symposium "Gaia: at the frontiers of astrometry" will be the closing conference of the European Marie Curie Research Training Network "ELSA" (European Leadership in Space Astrometry). It will be held in Sèvres (near Paris and Meudon) from 7 to 11 June 2010.

The network started in October 2006 for a duration of four years. It is a coordinated action between 14 European institutes involved in the preparation of the European Space Agency mission Gaia (to be launched in 2012). The objectives of this network are the development of theoretical tools and analysis methods for various aspects of the Gaia mission and the transfer of the European expertise in space astrometry acquired with Hipparcos to the new generation of scientists.

The objectives of the Symposium are to present the results obtained in the framework of the ELSA network and to review the progress of the mission, and of the preparation of the data analysis and of the scientific data exploitation. The Symposium will also be an opportunity to present other aspects of the preparatory work for the scientific exploitation of the Gaia data, not covered within the network, both in terms of theory, modelling and ground-based observations. Finally, Gaia will be put in the 2015 context, and progress on parallel or connected topics will be presented: progress on other astrometric satellites, performance of light detectors in astronomy, processing of massive data sets, real-time classification of transients, access to massive data sets, and prospects for ground-based observations in complement to astrometry.

A preliminary programme is available at http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/spip.php?rubrique11

Participation
The conference will take place at Centre International d'Etudes Pédagogiques (CIEP), former Royal Porcelain Works of Sèvres, just 10 minutes from Paris and Meudon. See
http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/spip.php?article20

The conference will be limited to, at most, 110 participants, and local accommodation is available in CIEP for about 100 participants (90 rooms). First registered, first served.

The early registration fee is 180 euros and gives free access to conference facilities, the abstract booklet, the welcome cocktail, the coffee breaks and lunches, the social dinner and conference proceedings.

Accommodation is available in the conference centre: 62 € for night + breakfast; 22 € for the dinner. Nights and dinners have to be reserved and paid in advance, through the registration form. See http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/spip.php?rubrique3

Grants
There are limited funds to support participants. Priority will be given to young scientists. Applications should be sent to Catherine Turon before 15 March 2010. See http://wwwhip.obspm.fr/gaia2010/spip.php?article25

Publication
The proceedings are planned to be printed and referred to in ADS.

Scientific Organising Committee
Catherine Turon (chair)
Anthony Brown, Leiden Observatory
Ronald Drimmel, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Torino
Stefan Jordan, Astronomisches Rechen-Institut ARI/ZAH
Mary Kontizas, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Lennart Lindegren, Lund Observatory
Thibaut Prod'homme, Leiden Observatory
Paola Re Fiorentin, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Torino, and University Ljubljana
Daniel Risquez, Leiden Observatory
Michael Weiler, Observatoire de Paris

Local Organising Committee
Yves Viala (Chair)
Frédéric Arenou, Céline Delle Luche, Daniel Hestroffer, Nicolas Leclerc, Olga Martins, Frédéric Meynadier, Annick Oger, Mireille Petit, Sophie Rousset, Michael Weiler

We look forward to seeing you in Sèvres,
Catherine Turon and Yves Viala on behalf of the SOC and LOC

Scientific Rationale

Catherine Turon — 2010-02-03T15:39:44Z

The Symposium "Gaia: at the frontiers of astrometry” will be the closing conference of the European network ELSA (European Leadership in Space Astrometry), a Marie Curie research training network supported by the European Community's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). The network started on 1st October 2006 for four years. It is a coordinated action between 14 European institutes involved in the preparation of the European Space Agency mission Gaia. The objectives of this network are the development of theoretical tools and analysis methods for various aspects of the Gaia mission and the transfer of the European expertise in space astrometry acquired with Hipparcos to the new generation of scientists.

Gaia is an ambitious astronomy project selected as one of the cornerstones of the ESA Science Program in October 2000, confirmed by the program committee of ESA in the revaluation of its scientific program in May 2002 and currently in Phase C / D for a launch planned for 2012. Conceived in the wake of the success of the Hipparcos satellite, the first space astrometry mission launched by ESA in 1989, Gaia will measure, on the whole sky, positions, distances, motions and physical properties of more than one billion objects with unparalleled accuracy. By combining the power of discovery of a repeated systematic observation of the sky and the extreme accuracy and homogeneity of its observations, Gaia will determine, without bias, the spatial structure, kinematics and the history of our Galaxy. Gaia will also measure and identify a large number of small bodies in the solar system (asteroids, comets, satellites), extra-solar planets, quasars and compact galaxies, and will make a major contribution to fundamental physics.

Through the ELSA network ten PhD students (ESR = Early Stage Researchers) and five post-docs (ER = Experienced Researchers) have been recruited to work on different aspects of Gaia: data analysis (algorithms, numerical analysis, software engineering), modelling of the instrument, preparation of the scientific exploitation. These activities are conducted in complement to and in close interaction with the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC).

The objectives of the Symposium "Gaia: at the frontiers of astrometry” are to present the results obtained in the framework of this European network and to review the progress of the mission, and of the preparation of the data analysis and of the scientific data exploitation. The Symposium will also be an opportunity to present other aspects of the preparatory work for the scientific exploitation of the Gaia data, not covered within the network, both in terms of theory, modelling and ground-based observations. Finally, Gaia will be put in the 2015 context, and progress on parallel or connected topics will be presented: progress on other astrometric satellites, performance of light detectors in astronomy, processing of massive data sets, especially in astronomy, real-time classification of transients, access to massive data sets, and prospects for ground-based observations in complement to astrometry.

Topics

Catherine Turon — 2010-01-26T17:44:42Z

1. ELSA and Gaia: context and status

* ELSA and Gaia

* General status of the mission (ESA).

* Status of the hardware, satellite and payload (ESA and industry).

2. Gaia modelling

* Simulation of the Gaia instrument and observations.

* Modelling the attitude of the satellite.

* The experience with Hipparcos.

3. Detectors in the space environment

* Radiation effects on Gaia CCDs. Testing and modelling.

* Detectors and radiation effects in the 2015 context.

4. Gaia data analysis

* Gaia data analysis: data connectivity.

* Hardware and software for Gaia

* Processing of massive data sets.

5. Gaia astrometry

* Gaia astrometric global iterative solution, characterisation of errors, monitoring the quality of the astrometric data, calibration and verification.

* Other astrometric space missions within the context of Gaia.

6. Gaia photometry and variability analysis

* Global analysis of Gaia photometric data and calibration methods.

* Detection and analysis of variable stars and transient phenomena.

* Methods used in large ground-based experiments.

7. Gaia spectroscopy

* The Gaia spectroscopic instrument.

* Global analysis of Gaia spectroscopic data and calibration methods.

8. Classification and astrophysical modelling

* Which stellar parameters, with which accuracy ?

* The performance of RAVE and SEGUE.

* Synthetic spectra for stars and galaxies

9. The science with Gaia

* Solar system objects. New perspectives in Solar System science: Gaia in the 2015 context. Asteroid orbit computation. Complementary ground-based observations.

* Stars. New perspectives in stellar physics: Gaia in the 2015 context. Stellar models. Physical limits in astrometric accuracy.

* The Galaxy and its neighbours. New perspectives: Gaia in the 2015 context. Kinematics and dynamics; chemical tagging. New perspectives in understanding the various components of the Galaxy: bulge, disks and halo. Gaia and near-field cosmology.

* The Galaxy and further. Stellar populations in resolved galaxies. Unresolved galaxies. QSO survey and reference frame. Fundamental physics.

* Results from large ground-based surveys

10. Gaia and further

* Prospects for wide field multi-object spectroscopic instrumentation

* How to access the Gaia catalogue ?

* What future for astrometry after Gaia ?