IAUS 329: The Lives and Death-Throes of Massive Stars
28th November to 2nd December 2016
Venue: The Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand
Dear colleagues,
This is the second announcement of the forthcoming IAU symposium to be held in Auckland, New Zealand entitled
"IAUS 329: The Lives and Death-Throes of Massive Stars".
Dates: 28th November to 2nd December 2016
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Venue: The Spencer on Byron Hotel, Takapuna
Registration, abstract submission and application for IAU travel grants are now open.
Abstract Submission closes: 30th May 2016
IAU travel grant Submission closes: 30th May 2016
Early-bird registration closes: 30th August 2016
Conference website: http://nzstars2016.nz
Contact for questions about the meeting scientific program: nzstars2016@auckland.ac.nz
The meeting will summarize recent progress and establish stronger links between the massive star community and closely-linked fields, particularly those studying end stages of massive star evolution and massive star cosmic implications.
Topics to be covered:
Death throes: supernovae, stellar deaths and progenitors
Observations and surveys of massive stars: hot stars, cool stars, transition objects and binaries
Theory of stellar evolution & atmospheres: beyond standard physics, rotation, duplicity, mass loss and magnetic fields and instabilities
Massive stars and their supernovae as galactic building blocks and engines: Milky Way, nearby galaxies and the early Universe
Invited Speakers
Evelyne Alecian, Rodolfo Barba, Kris Belczynski, Melina Bersten, Saida Caballero-Nieves, Luc Dessart, Morgan Fraser, Miriam Garcia, Cyril Georgy, Goetz Grafener, Jose Groh, Stephen Justham, Emily Levesque, Georges Meynet, Shazrene Mohamed, Bernhard Muller, Ignacio Negureruela, Maria Fernanda Nieva, Keiichi Ohnaka, Hugues Sana, Andreas Sander, Sergio Simon-Diaz, Alicia Soderberg, Elizabeth Stanway, Miguel Urbaneja
Travel, accommodation and support
New Zealand is a significant distance to travel, particularly due to the location of the international date line causing many attendees to "lose-a-day" when travelling to the conference. We advise our most distant attendees to arrive two days early, if possible, but at least 1 day before the Monday morning, so they are able to enjoy the first full day of the conference.
Rooms can be booked directly at the hotel as described on the conference website. It is possible for two or three people to share one room. We suggest attendees organise their own groups. We will attempt to provide a way to find roommates on the conference website shortly, this can also be done via the conference's facebook group.
We are also attempting to obtain access to discounts on flights. We will update the conference website with details of this hopefully in the next few weeks.
We have limited funds from the IAU to provide support for attendees that have limited travel funding. Details on how to apply for this are on the conference website.
If you require a letter of invitation to visit New Zealand, you must first register for and pay all applicable registration fees. Full details of how to apply for this letter and a list of visa-free countries are listed on the conference website.
Nationwide public symposium
In the weekend following the conference, Dec 3rd, we are planning to run a large one day public symposium with as many speakers as possible talking about their latest research. We also hope to have these talks streamed live onto the internet and recorded so there is a lasting impact of the meeting in New Zealand. If you would like to be involved, or perhaps to travel to a city within New Zealand to give a talk please email nztars2016@auckland.ac.nz and outline your previous outreach experience.
Splinter Meetings
It may be possible to run a few splinter meetings during the conference in the evenings, or during the weekend after the main conference. If you would like to run a splinter meeting please email nztars2016@auckland.ac.nz with a short outline of the topic, an estimated number of participants, and the names of organizers before the 30th May 2016.
Conference Excursions
There are currently two excursions planned for the Wednesday afternoon of the conference. One is a trip to Rangitoto Island, the volcano that is visible from the hotel. This costs NZ$92 and lasts from11.45am to approximately 5.15pm - includes round trip coach transfers (from the hotel to Ferry Terminal, Ferry to the island and tour escort. While it’s not a walk for the faint-hearted, it is family friendly. Make sure you arrive prepared – there are no shops or transport on the island and limited drinking water. Bring sunblock and a hat and wear comfortable walking shoes. Alternatively there is a trip to the Auckland War Memorial Museum which will cost NZ$72. The trip runs from 1.15pm to approximately 4.15pm - includes round trip coach transfers, tour guide and entry to museum.
Social Media
The hashtag for the meeting is #NZstars2016. We have also setup a Facebook group for the meeting which can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1015095635200645/
Conference Equity and Anti-Harassment Statement
#NZstars2016 is dedicated to providing an equitable and harassment-free conference experience for everyone regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned at the discretion of the conference organizers and the conference equity committee.
Weblink: nzstars2016.nz
Email: nzstars2016@auckland.ac.nz