EWASS 2018: First media announcement
Royal Astronomical Society press release
RAS PR 18/4 (EWASS 1)
22 February 2018
Around 1500 astronomers and space scientists will gather at the Arena and Conference Centre Liverpool (ACC Liverpool), from 3 – 6 April, for the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science (EWASS 2018). The conference is the largest professional astronomy and space science event in the UK for a decade and will see leading researchers from around the world presenting their latest work.
EWASS 2018 is a joint meeting of the European Astronomical Society and the Royal Astronomical Society. It incorporates the RAS National Astronomy Meeting (NAM), and includes the annual meetings of the UK Solar Physics (UKSP) and Magnetosphere Ionosphere Solar-Terrestrial (MIST) groups. The conference is principally sponsored by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Liverpool John Moores University.
Sessions at EWASS 2018 will cover a diverse range of topics across 11 symposia and 31 special sessions, ranging from the physics and chemistry of exoplanets, through galaxy formation, to the Gaia survey of a billion stars, art in astronomy, the Alpha Centauri planetary system, and European-African astronomy research collaborations.
Alongside the formal meeting will be a public lecture by exoplanet specialist Professor Giovanna Tinetti of University College London, who will speak on Friday 6 April on: “Brave new worlds: the planets in our galaxy.”
Meeting arrangements and a full and up to date schedule of the scientific programme can be found on the official website http://eas.unige.ch/EWASS2018/index.jsp and via the conference Twitter account https://twitter.com/ewass2018
Details of media releases, and registration information, are on our dedicated conference media page at https://ewass.ras.ac.uk/
Media representatives are cordially invited to attend the meeting and can register at no cost. Press room facilities will be available for the duration of the conference – from 09:00 BST on Tuesday 3 April to 15:00 BST on Friday 6 April. A series of releases, issued under embargo, will cover key scientific results presented at the meeting.
For free registration, and to obtain access to embargoed releases via the (password-protected) media site, please contact Robert Massey or another member of the press team (see below).
Media contacts
Dr Robert Massey
Royal Astronomical Society
Tel: +44 (0)20 7292 3979
Mob: +44 (0)7802 877 699
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Ms Anita Heward
Royal Astronomical Society
Mob: +44 (0)7756 034 243
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Dr Morgan Hollis
Royal Astronomical Society
Tel: +44 (0)20 7292 3977
Mob: +44 (0)7802 877 700
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Dr Helen Klus
Royal Astronomical Society
Tel: +44 (0)20 7292 3976
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Notes for editors
Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) is one of the largest, most dynamic and forward-thinking universities in the UK, with a vibrant community of 25,000 students from over 100 countries world-wide, 2,500 staff and 250 degree courses. LJMU celebrated its 25th anniversary of becoming a university in 2017 and has launched a new five-year vision built around four key ‘pillars’ to deliver excellence in education; impactful research and scholarship; enhanced civic and global engagement; and an outstanding student experience.
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. The RAS organizes scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognizes outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 4000 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.
The RAS accepts papers for its journals based on the principle of peer review, in which fellow experts on the editorial boards accept the paper as worth considering. The Society issues press releases based on a similar principle, but the organisations and scientists concerned have overall responsibility for their content.
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The European Astronomical Society (EAS) promotes and advances astronomy in Europe. As an independent body, the EAS is able to act on matters that need to be handled at a European level on behalf of the European astronomical community. In its endeavours the EAS collaborates with affiliated national astronomical societies and also with pan-European research organisations and networks. Founded in 1990, the EAS is a society of individual members. All astronomers may join the society, irrespective of their field of research, or their country of work or origin. In addition, corporations, publishers and non-profit organisations can become organizational members of the EAS. The EAS, together with one of its affiliated societies, organises the annual European Week of Astronomy & Space Science (formerly known as JENAM) to enhance its links with national communities, to broaden connections between individual members and to promote European networks.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is keeping the UK at the forefront of international science and has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar.
STFC's Astronomy and Space Science programme provides support for a wide range of facilities, research groups and individuals in order to investigate some of the highest priority questions in astrophysics, cosmology and solar system science. STFC's astronomy and space science programme is delivered through grant funding for research activities, and also through support of technical activities at STFC's UK Astronomy Technology Centre and RAL Space at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. STFC also supports UK astronomy through the international European Southern Observatory.
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