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First announcement for the 1st Eddington Workshop ``Stellar-structure and habitable planet finding'' Cordoba (Spain), 11-15 June 2001 Eddington is a 1.2-metre space telescope with a wide-field imager for extra-solar planet hunting by transits and for asteroseismic observations, with ample opportunities for parallel and ancillary science. This workshop is an invitation to the wider scientific community to get involved in the refinement of the mission concept, and to participate in the science and technology of the Eddington mission. This workshop follows on the recent ESA decision to adopt Eddington as a "reserve mission", for a launch in the 2007-2013 time-frame. Eddington, with a telescope of nominal 1.2-metre aperture and a 3 degree field of view with a CCD imager for high-precision photometry, and a five-year life, has two primary goals:
There will also be opportunities for parallel imaging and photometric science during the planet and asteroseismology observations, as well as the possibility, for a fraction of the total time, to point at different type of targets, in an "observatory-like" fashion. While building on the small national missions COROT, MONS and MOST, the large collecting area of the Eddington telescope allows the detection of habitable planets around solar-type stars (out of reach for the smaller missions) and provides the data on oscillation frequencies needed to perform asteroseismic investigations of critical phases of stellar evolution, e.g. stars in open clusters and Pop. II stars, thus allowing for a major quantum step in both disciplines. The baseline plan is that these two main investigations will be done in a series of month-long pointings at asteroseismic targets, followed by a three-year pointing at the planet field. The general astronomy pointings will be done within this time-frame. In the course of 2000 the mission has been the subject of a study leading to a mission concept which was successfully presented to ESA for approval in September 2000. In the next two years detailed studies of the whole mission concept, and in particular of the payload, will be performed. This workshop is an open invitation to the wider scientific community to provide input to the Eddington mission concept, and get involved in the following phases of the Eddington mission. More information on the Eddington baseline design can be obtained at http://astro.esa.int/SA-general/Projects/Eddington/. Copies of the report on the Eddington study performed in the course of 2000, where the baseline mission concept is described in detail, are available upon request from the Study Scientist F. Favata ( ffavata@astro.estec.esa.nl). The programme will include a presentation of the various aspects of the mission's present baseline and scientific performance, and an overview of the mission's science goals. Contributions are solicited on all aspects of the mission, on both the scientific side as well as the industrial side. A formal call for abstracts will be circulated later this year, together with a preliminary programme with a list of invited speakers. An "expression of interest" form is appended to this announcement, which should be returned to eddi2001@astro.estec.esa.nl. The same address can also be contacted with any question regarding the workshop. Updated information about the Workshop will be made available at the address http://astro.esa.int/SA-general/Projects/Eddington/Eddi2001. Please feel free to pass this message to any colleague who might be interested in the meeting and who may not be in the initial mailing list. Note that the invitation is equally open to scientists working both in ESA- and non-ESA-member states. ==== Scientific Organizing Committee:
C. Aerts (U. Leuven, BE)
Local Organizing Committee
V. Costa (IAA, Granada)
==== Conference venue and information about the city of Cordoba Cordoba is in the middle of the Spanish southern region of Andalusia, about 120 km northeast of Seville and 160 km northwest of Granada. It has a population of 300,000 and lies at the foot of the Sierra Morena and on the bank of the Guadalquivir River. Cordoba has a very rich history. Probably of Carthaginian in origin, was occupied by the Romans in 152 BC. The city flourished and became the capital of the prosperous province of Baetica. Then declined under the rule of the Visigoths from the 6th century to 711, when Cordoba was largely destroyed by the Muslims. Thy nevertheless made of Cordoba their capital in 756 and Abd al-Rahman I founded the Great Mosque, while the city grew rapidly. After 927, when Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed himself caliph of the West, Cordoba became the largest and probably the most cultured city in Europe. It fell to the Castilians in 1236 and became part of Christian Spain. Cordoba remains a typically Andalusian city with narrow streets, especially in the old Jewish quarter (La Juderia). A Moorish bridge on Roman bases connects Cordoba with its suburbs across the river. Besides, the Great Mosque, many palaces, monasteries, and churches, are found in Cordoba from different times together with typical houses with colourful patios. In addition, there are many possibilities in Cordoba to taste good food, have "tapas" with a large variety of options and drink wine from the nearby village of Montilla. The workshop will take place in the Palacio de Congresos which is located in a refurbished XVIth century building in the old part of the city, very close to the Mosque, and at walking distance from most of the selected hotels. To reach Cordoba, the best way is to fly to Madrid or Sevilla and use the fast speed train (AVE) which runs every hour from Madrid (Atocha AVE Station) to Sevilla (Santa Justa Station) with a stop in Cordoba. The time from Madrid to Cordoba is approximately 1 hour 45 minutes and from Sevilla to Cordoba is 45 minutes. The train is also very convenient for one day visits to Sevilla while in Cordoba. |
Last modified: October 24, 2000
David McDavid