FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
1. General information "Space Astronomy: from the Sun's neighbourhood to large scale structures" is a conference being jointly organized by the Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (CAUP) and the European Space Agency (ESA), to be held at CAUP, Porto, Portugal, from the 30 th of March to the 1st of April in 2000. This conference comes in the wake of the entry of Portugal into ESA on the 15 th of December of 1999, and also serves to commemorate the 10 th anniversary of CAUP. Its main objective will be to review the knowledge obtained through present and past ESA scientific missions in the field of Astrophysics, and the science that one will be able to perform with present and scheduled missions. We hope it will also serve to bring together people interested in the development of future ESA missions and in the subsequent scientific use of the data collected through them.
2. Scientific Organizing Committee
3.Programme
4. Registration fee and Deadlines The registration fee is 10000 Escudos (about 50 Euros). The registration fee covers the social events and includes a copy of the conference proceedings.
15 March 2000 is the deadline for registration,
accommodation booking and submission of abstracts.
5. Abstracts and Proceedings If you would like to present a contribution at the conference you must
submit a short abstract limited to 10 lines. Please, use the available forms. Contributed presentations will be
in the form of posters or oral presentations (whenever possible). Conference proceedings will be published.
6. Conference Site The conference will take place in the city of Porto in a building that houses both the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP) and the Porto Planetarium (maps are available). CAUP is a young research institute in Astronomy and Astrophysics set up ten years ago, with 17 researchers (lecturers and post-doctorates), with major areas of interest being stellar astrophysics and cosmology. It has been hosting the European MSc in Astrophysics and a Msc in Teaching of Astronomy. In addition to research activities, CAUP also has a popularization of science component with a portable planetarium, already visited by more than 100 000 children, and an "Astroteca" - an astronomy resource for the public. It is also responsible for the activities of the Porto Planetarium. Besides absorbing the actual CAUP activities, the infrastructure also plays a major role in gathering together research and popularization in Astronomy. The conference location is close to a shopping area with several places
for lunch and dinner. Buses to the town centre run fairly often from near
the conference site and take approximately 15 minutes.
7. About Porto Porto is Portugal's second largest city. It is located in the northern margin of the river Douro, near the Atlantic. The city has a population of around 350 thousand inhabitants. This number rises to about 1.2 million if we consider the metropolitan area . It is a major centre for commerce and industry in Portugal. Porto is the birthplace of Infant D. Henrique, the Navigator, and had an important role in the Portuguese maritime expansion. In terms of art, there are a number of baroque churches with a distinct golden woodcraft. The old centre of the town has been classified as "World Heritage", by UNESCO, due to its historic and architectonic importance. The name of the city, usually known as Oporto to the British, derives from "portus", word that the romans added to the local name "cale" (meaning refuge or shelter): "porto de cale" (the root of name "Portugal"). From the beginnings of the XII century, the city is designated simply as "portus", Porto. The city is largely well known in the world mainly due to its famous Port wine ("vinho do Porto"). The wine is cultivated and produced in the mountains along the river Douro to the East of Porto, and is then matured in special oak barrels in cellars by the river, in Porto. Porto has been given the distinction of becoming
European Capital of Culture in 2001 (www.porto2001.pt),
jointly with Rotterdam in the Netherlands. In
anticipation of this event, a significant effort of
urban renovation is currently under way, including
the construction of what will be one of the most
important cultural equipments of the Iberian Peninsula
- the House of Music by the renowed Dutch architect
Rem Koolhaas. A large number of cultural events are
being programmed, distributed throughout 2001, where
the common theme will be the building of bridges
between different areas of culture and most importantly
between people.
8. Travelling to Porto
Porto is served by an international airport, about 13 kms to the north of the city centre. From the airport you can take a Taxi (fare around 3 000 Escudos to the city centre), the STCP Bus no. 56 (180 Escudos ticket sold inside) which takes you to the town's centre, going through Boavista (close to the conference site) or the STCP "Aerobus" service, which runs from the airport to central Porto stopping only at Boavista and Av. dos Aliados, its final stop (fare: 500 Escudos). Porto is well served by motorways. If you decide to come by car, we advise you to cross the Spanish-Portuguese border at Vilar Formoso in Central Portugal, which is about 120 kms to the west of Salamanca. From there you take road IP5 towards the western coast and near Aveiro you head north, taking motorway A1 all the way to Porto. The toll from Aveiro to Porto is around 600 Escudos. The price of petrol in Portugal is quite high, with one litre of unleaded fuel costing 161 Escudos, and one litre of diesel costing 110 Escudos. The international connections to Porto by rail are often quite slow. There is a train Madrid-Porto which takes 10-12 hours. If you are coming through Lisboa, you can take a fast train Lisboa-Porto (Alfa) taking about 3 hours for the trip (return fare is 5500 Escudos), or you can go for a less expensive, slower service.
9. Weather and Money Spending Weather in Porto in late March and early April can be very pleasant
with temperatures that can easily reach 20 degrees Celsius or above, being seldom less than about 10 degrees Celsius. You should be prepared for the possibility
of some rain. Most
shops take all major credit cards (VISA, MASTERCARD, ACCESS, AMERICAN EXPRESS).
This might not be true in small restaurants which are used for snacks and
lunches. Also, there is a good network of cash machines where you can withdraw
money. These accept all major cards.
10. Accommodation There's an Accommodation Form which includes a list of hotels (with different prices and categories) that are located close to the conference site and downtown. Walking from the hotels close to the conference site takes about 10-15 minutes. From downtown, the buses (number 35, 37 or 78) take about 20-30 minutes. Try to book your room as soon as possible - we cannot guarantee that last minute registrations can be accommodated. Possible options are: Prices per room per night are (breakfast included):
Residenciais: (bed-and-breakfast type of accommodation with private facilities)
A map of Porto with the location of all
hotel and Residenciais is available.
11. Social Events There will be a conference dinner on Thursday 30th March, in a local to
be announced.
12. Forms You can use on-line forms or download
an ASCII version.
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2000/02/19 |