Starting Date: 25/11/2026
Venue: UCM, Madrid
Meeting Webpage
We are pleased to announce the National SKAO Thematic Focus Meetings, a series organised by the SKA-Spain coordination office in extensive collaboration with the Spanish astronomical community, and happening at different institutions across Spain. These meetings aim to consolidate Spanish participation and leadership in the SKA Observatory (SKAO) science through discussions specific to given research areas. The series is endorsed by the Red de Infraestructuras de Astronomía (RIA) and the Sociedad Española de Astronomía (SEA).
The first meeting is the RIA Open Meeting (Reunión Abierta de la RIA) “Extragalactic Continuum Science in the SKA Era: A Spanish Community Workshop”. It is organised by Shane O’Sullivan (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, UCM) and Javier Moldón (IAA-CSIC), and funded by the RIA and the UCM. It will be held at the UCM from the afternoon of 11 November through 12 November 2026.
The workshop is for the Spanish community interested in studying the physics of galaxies through their radio emission with the SKA. Topics include how supermassive black holes launch jets and shape their surroundings, star formation across cosmic time (including dust-obscured and dwarf galaxies), the origin of magnetic fields and cosmic rays, the variable and transient radio sky, and particle acceleration in galaxy groups and clusters.
The workshop will focus on discussion and breakout sessions aimed at exploring science opportunities for SKAO Science Verification (starting in mid-2027) and the first observing cycles, identifying collaborations and commensal science cases, and discussing the tools needed for future SKAO proposals. PhD students and early-career researchers are particularly encouraged to attend. A member of the SKAO science team will participate and address any questions the community may have.
