Start date: 16/04/2009

 End date: 17/04/2009

  • Place: CSIC Press Room, c/Serrano 113, Madrid
  • Organizer: Group 5 of the RIA (E-ELT)
  • Description:The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), promoted by ESO, requires a major international effort with the widest possible participation on behalf of ground-based optical and infrared astronomy. The present design envisages a 42 metre diameter primary mirror (with more than 900 hexagonal segments, each 1.45 metres in diameter) to provide an equivalent collecting surface 16 times larger than the GTC. It is no exaggeration to say that the building of this telescope would constitute a complete revolution in ground-based astronomy.Site characterization tests are under way to determine the best location on the planet for the E-ELT. Chile and the Canary Islands (Roque de los Muchachos Observatory) are among the best candidate sites. Clearly it is essential to maximize the return on this investment by guaranteeing sky quality at the chosen site, but the greatest difference between the two sites is the fact that they are located in different hemispheres. Is this difference important in terms of the science to be pursued?ESO has recently made a public appeal to the scientific tp present specific scientific cases for the project with a deadline set for the end of May (Markus Kissler-Patig; E-ELT Project Scientist, detailed information at http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/eelt). It is natural to assume, given the tradition within ESO itself, that most, if not all, the cases presented will refer to objects in the Southern Hemisphere.

    The aim of this meeting is to encourage the national and international communities to participate in this process of defining science with the E-ELT and to consider the Northern Hemisphere as a real alternative in their proposals. The meeting will be an open one.

    The objectives of the meeting are as follows:

    • Motivate the Spanish astrophysics community to collaborate with ESO in the definition of the E-ELT and its instrumentation.
    • Encourage the presentation of specific scientific cases referred to the Northern Hemisphere with respect to the present appeal by the E-ELT project.
    • And finally, with a group selected among the participants, to produce a document with a resume and analysis of the scientific cases for the E-ELT in the Northern Hemisphere.

    The size of the meeting will be restricted to a maximum of 40 or 50 participants owing to the limitations of available seating arrangements.

    As this workshop is financed by the “Red de Infraestructuras de Astronomía”, there is not registration fee.

    The registration deadline will be 6 April, 2009.

    • Scientific Organizing Committee :

    •   Carlos Martínez Roger

    •   Artemio Herrero

    •   Rafael Rebolo

    •   Carme Gallart

    •   Jordi Cepa

    •   Santiago Arribas

    •   Ramón García López

  • More information:
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