Exploring Strange New Worlds:
From Giant Planets to Super Earths
High Country Conference Center, Flagstaff, AZ May 1-6, 2011
Co-hosted by NASA/JPL's Exoplanet Exploration Program and the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute
Post Conference Update: Presentations, Posters and Pictures and Geoff Marcy's lecture are available online!
The complete abstract book is available for download (PDF format).
(click on the above links for more information on each topic)
Purpose and Scope
The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute and NASA's ExoPlanet Exploration Program are co-hosting the 6th in a series of international scientific conferences on the topic of present and future observations of exoplanets from space. The conference will present state-of-the art results from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes, the Kepler and CoRoT transit missions, as well as relevant ground-based facilities. Noted theoreticians will provide perspective and interpretation of the observational results of the physical characterization of planets ranging in size from gas and icy giants, super Earths, and (ultimately) Earth analogs. Speakers will emphasize how exoplanet observations help us understand the formation and evolution of objects in our own Solar System.
Speakers will also look toward the future with a focus on the exoplanet observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and ESA's GAIA astrometric mission. Speakers from the four JWST instrument teams will address the capabilities of JWST for coronagraphy and transit follow-up. The conference will end with discussions of the missions and technologies endorsed by the Astro2010 Decadal Review such as micro-lensing opportunities with NASA's WFIRST project and a large optical/UV telescope. Similar discussions will be held on plans of other space agencies such as ESA's EUCLID and PLATO projects.
The conference will include invited talks, contributed talks and posters as well as a public lecture. Conference sponsors include NASA, the Spitzer Science Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the California Institute of Technology, the Blue Dots initiative, Northrup Grumman Space Systems, Lockheed Martin, and the James Webb Space Telescope project.
Registration and Participants - click here to register
Early registration fee: $475 (until March 15, 2011)
Late registration fee: $525 (until April 30, 2011)
On-site registration fee: $575 (May 1-6, 2011)
Speaker Information
Invited and Contributed Talk Submission Site: During the conference the speakers will upload their talks via a website on computers in the speaker ready room (Aspen), on the 2nd floor of the conference center. If you have your presentation all prepared and would like to upload it ahead of the conference please do as this will help us out with conference organization. You can upload your presentation here.
Click here for information on conference presentations.
Click here for the list of poster presentations and their assigned IDs. We will have floor plans of the poster room posted at the conference center to help you navigate the more than 100 posters.
Agenda and Announcements
The final conference agenda with titles linked to the invited and contributed talk presentations.
Final Announcement (April 26, 2011)
Third Announcement (April 5, 2011)
Second Announcement (January 24, 2011)
First Announcement (November 16, 2010)
Email us at StrangeNewWorlds@ipac.caltech.edu to be added to our mailing list for future conference announcements.
Hotel, Travel, and Local Information
Restaurants and Weather: Click here for information on restaurants near the conference center and the current weather forecast.
Hotels: Room blocks for the conference have been reserved at three hotels in Flagstaff. The deadline to make reservations in order to secure the conference rate is April 2, 2011. Click here for hotel and reservation information.
Travel and Other Local Information: Click here for information on how to get to Flagstaff and what to pack.
Conference Events
Several social events and side trips will be offered during the conference, including:
- Wed. afternoon May 4 excursion to Meteor Crater (cost $25)
- Wed. afternoon May 4 excursion to Anderson Mesa (cost $25)
- Thurs. evening May 5 conference banquet at Forest Highlands (cost $25)
- Sat. May 7 day trip to the Grand Canyon (cost $110)
Tickets/guest tickets for these events can be purchased through the registration page, except tickets for the Grand Canyon day trip which are purchased directly from the tour company.
Financial Support for Students - application period is closed
Student and postdoctoral attendees may apply online for limited financial support to attend the conference. Applications are due Jan. 31, 2011 and decisions will be announced by Feb. 18, 2011. If you are awarded travel, lodging/per diem, and/or registration support for the workshop, you must abide by all rules in the travel guidelines and stay at one of the conference hotels.
Important Dates
- Nov. 16, 2010: Meeting website open and first announcement
- Jan. 24, 2011: Second announcement
- Jan. 31, 2011: Financial aid applications due
- Feb. 18, 2011: Decisions on financial aid for students announced (via email)
- Mar. 7, 2011: Abstract submission deadline extended to March 7
- Mar. 15, 2011: Early registration ends
- Mar. 31, 2011: Third announcement with final agenda including poster/contributed talk decisions
- Apr. 2, 2011: Hotel reservation deadline for conference rate and final announcement
- Apr. 22, 2011: Deadline for submitting electronic posters
- May 1-6, 2011: Conference at High Country Conference Center, Flagstaff, AZ (on-site registration available at $575)
Organizing Committees and Sponsors - click here for SOC and LOC members
Questions? StrangeNewWorlds@ipac.caltech.edu