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ALMA Press Release: Nearby ageing star provides glimpse into the future of our own solar system

JBCA Press Release

arXiv preprint

An international team of astronomers have used ALMA to observe the nearby evolved star L2 Puppis, which is surrounded by a disk made of gas and dust created by its mass loss. Using the gas masses from the ALMA data and stellar evolution models, the age of L2 Pup was determined to be around 10 billion years. Five billion years ago, L2 Pup was an almost perfect twin of our present-day Sun; the ALMA observation of this source provides a glimpse into the future of our own Solar System.

Near L2 Pup itself, the team discovered an object one hundred times fainter that is now named L2 Pup B. At a separation of 2 AU from its parent star, its low estimated mass implies that it is very likely a planet or a low mass brown dwarf.

 

RAS/RSC Astrophysical Chemistry Group Annual Meeting and AstroSurf 2017

11 - 13 April 2017

University of Warwick

Coventry, United Kingdom

Website 

This year’s RAS/RSC Astrophysical Chemistry Group (ApChem) meeting and the AstroSurf 2017 meeting will take place 11-13 April 2017 at the University of Warwick, UK. AstroSurf 2017 is the fifth in a series of meetings established by the UK AstroSurf Network.  Registration is already open and further details of the conference can be found on the conference website.

Registration deadline for oral presention: March 14th 

Registration deadline no oral presentation: March 28th

 

European Week of Astronomy and Space Science

26 - 30 June 2017

Charles University

Prague, Czech Republic

Website

The European Astronomical Society (EAS) has announced that the EWASS 2017 will be held in Prague from 26 to 30 June 2017.

This year, EWASS includes a wide range of Symposia and Special Sessions that cover nearly all fields of astronomy and astrophysics. Of particular interest to ALMA users is session #20 entitled "Science with ALMA: Discoveries, future priorities and user support".

Very Early Registration deadline: 10 February 2017

Early Registration deadline: 28 April 2016

Abstract submission deadline: 8 March 2017

 

National Astronomy Meeting 2017

02-06 July 2017

University of Hull

Hull, United Kingdom

Website

This years the UK's National Astronomy Meeting will take place in Hull from the 2-6 July. Abstract submission is not yet open but the session titles, many of which will be of interest to the UK ALMA community, can be found in the science programme for the conference.

 

Measuring Star Formation in the Radio, Millimetre, and Submillimetre

24 - 26 July 2017

The University of Manchester

Manchester, United Kingdom

Website

The current generation of radio, millimetre, and submillimetre telescopes (ALMA, eMERLIN, jVLA, MeerKAT, ASKAP) and the next generation (SKA, ngVLA) will have the capability to detect emission from star forming regions at much higher sensitivities than previous telescopes working in these bands. This opens up new possibilities for using star formation tracers including synchrotron emission, free-free emission, and higher order recombination line emission to measure star formation rates. As these tracers are unaffected by dust extinction and as many of the tracers are directly connected to young stellar populations, they could potentially yield more accurate star formation rates than what is measured using ultraviolet, optical, or infrared data. The goal of this workshop is to bring together people who are exploring the ways to measure star formation rates in the radio, millimetre, and submillimetre bands.

Registration is now open. The abstract submission deadline is 14 April 2017, and the registration deadline is 15 May 2017. To register, please submit the form on the registration page.

 

SMG20 conference: Twenty years of Submillimetre Galaxies: Star-forming galaxies at high redshifts

31 July - 02 August 2017

Durham University

Website

The organisers are pleased to announce that abstract submission for the SMG20 conference is now open. The conference will be held in the new Ogden Centre West building in Durham and will feature three days of diverse talks and discussion on the topic of intensely star-forming systems in the distant Universe:

Please note that, due to space limitations, full registration will initially only be open to those with accepted presentations or posters. Once abstract selection has been completed (expected to be the end of March) participants will be emailed with the direct registration link.

 

URSI 2017 General Assembly ad Scientific Symposium 2017

19 - 26 August 2017

Palais des congres de Montreal

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Website

The 32nd International Union of Radio Science General Assembly and Scientific Symposium will take place in Montréal Canada this year. Of potential interest to ALMA users is Commission J on radio astronomy.

Deadline for Submission of Papers: 30 Jan 2017

Notification of Acceptance: 20 March 2017

 

MARCUs funding returns

From the start of 2017, Mobility for ARC Users (MARCUs) funding will be available again for ALMA users to travel to one of the European ALMA Regional Centre nodes in Europe for face-to-face support.

MARCUs funding is provided through RadioNet, an EC funded project that brings together the premier radio astronomical facilities in Europe to serve a growing research community across all of Europe.

For instructions on how apply please see the ESO webpage on MARCUs funding.