Notices

The deadline for submission of papers for the printed proceedings is 12 November 2004, 18:00 CET. See Proceedings for further details.

2004-10-13:A report of the Symposium has been prepared by the Chairs of the Scientific Organising Committee. It is available online.

2004-09-23: A Final Announcement containing some practical information for participants of the Symposium is now available. It includes details on how to deliver material for the invited and oral presentations, transport from Paris to Meudon, network connections during the Symposium and the social dinner. See the Final Announcement link.

2004-09-20: Registration is now closed. The list of participants, including those on the waiting list, has been finalised.

2004-09-03: The registration list for the Symposium is now full and a waiting list has been opened. If you register now your name will be placed on the waiting list. If places become available you will be informed personally in the next few weeks.

2004-08-20: For security and logistical reasons a maximum of 230 participants may be registered for the Symposium. Once this limit has been exceeded a waiting list will be opened for individuals who still wish to register for the Symposium. If places later become available they will be filled from the waiting list.

2004-08-16: A complete list of abstracts for all invited, oral and poster contributions is now available online.

2004-08-09: Instructions for preparing papers for the published proceedings have been added. See here for details.

2004-07-01: The programme for the Symposium has been finalised. See here for details.

2004-05-01: The closing date for grant applications has passed. No more applications will be accepted.

2004-03-04: A list of recommended hotels is now available here.

2004-02-16: Early registration for the Symposium at a preferential rate is open from mid-February to 31 May 2004. Registration at the normal rate will run from 01 June to 15 September 2004. Click on the Registration link and complete the online forms.

Students and young researchers: You can apply for a grant which will (partially or completely) cover the registration fees, your travel costs and a per diem for your stay. Click on Registration and follow the instructions.

The Three Dimensional Universe with Gaia - Introduction

Les Rencontres de l'Observatoire 2004 are dedicated to a Symposium on "The Three Dimensional Universe with Gaia". It will take place at the Observatoire de Paris, at the Meudon site, building 18 (LAM), from 4 to 7 October 2004.

The date chosen for this Symposium corresponds to the end of the definition phase of Gaia. The purposes of this Symposium are:

• to present to the scientific community the design chosen for the mission, the final characteristics and performances, and to update the resulting scientific case
• to bring to the attention of the scientific community the extraordinary potential of Gaia and to share with the younger generation of scientists the expertise acquired during the preparation phases of the Gaia mission, and during all phases of the Hipparcos mission. Students and young researchers are particularly welcome
• to organise the next phase of scientific preparation of the mission, in particular the data reduction which constitutes a major challenge with a petabyte of interconnected data which has to be treated in a global and iterative manner, and to prepare for the scientific exploitation of the data.