Kepler Science Conference II
November 4-8, 2013
Hosted by the NASA Ames Research Center,
Moffett Field, CA
Co-sponsored by the Kepler Project and the
NASA Exoplanet Science Institute
Moffett Field, CA
Co-sponsored by the Kepler Project and the
NASA Exoplanet Science Institute
12/5/13: Archived videos of each talk are available by clicking on the links after the talk titles on the agenda page. PDF files of most posters are also available; click on the links after the poster titles on the agenda to view.
11/7/13: Archived video of the public lecture by Frank Drake, titled Kepler and Its Impact on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is now available.
11/4/13: If you'd like to participate in the online conversation, the Twitter hashtag is #Kepler2.
11/4/13: Check out this word cloud generated from the titles of the more than 250 abstracts submitted for the second Kepler science conference.
10/30/13: A new splinter session on "The Future of the Exoplanet Exploration" program has been added for Thursday at 12:45 pm.
10/29/13: The URL for live streaming during the conference is: http://connect.arc.nasa.gov/kepler2 (note that this URL was updated 11/6/13) and information has been added to the Local Information page on lunch options during the conference. Mirror site information is also available.
10/23/13 Announcement: The public lecture by Frank Drake, titled Kepler and Its Impact on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence will now take place on Tuesday evening at 7 pm in building 152. Tickets for this free event are sold out as of Nov. 5.
(click on the above links for more on each topic)
This conference will highlight the full range of scientific results emerging from more than three years of Kepler observations, as well as what to expect from continued observations.
Confirmed invited speakers include:
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Topics to be covered include:
- Monday
- Exoplanet Statistics, False Positives, and Completeness Corrections
- Earth Analogues and Super-Earths
- Tuesday
- Multiple Planets and Multiple Star Systems
- Planet Formation and Migration Theories
- Wednesday
- Habitable Zone
- Characterizing Transiting Planets
- Stellar Activity, Rotation, Ages, Metallicity
- Thursday
- Eclipsing and Interacting Binaries
- Future Exoplanet Telescopes and Instrumentation
- Asteroseismology
- Friday
- Asteroseismology
- Galactic and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Agenda and Poster Session Information
The agenda and poster session listings is now available. Click here to view the agenda and here to view the poster sessions. Note that there will be two poster sessions during the conference.
Registration
There is no registration fee for this conference, however all attendees must register through the online registration site.
On-line registration will close on Oct. 25 although foreign nationals must register by Sept. 20 (see below). On-site registration will be available for US citizens and legal residents as space allows, however for planning purposes, we ask that you please register ahead of time.
Please note that NASA employees' attendance is governed by travel policy restrictions and any NASA attendee should consult the policy for compliance. Current restrictions limit the participation of federal employees and NASA contractors to no more than 50 outside attendees (i.e. from outside NASA Ames).
Note that since the conference will be held on a US government site, all foreign nationals must register by Sept. 20, 2013 to allow time for security clearance. Click here to register, making sure to use the foreign national tab to complete your registration. Note that part in addition to completing the foreign national registration, we ask that you email copies of your relevant travel documents (passport, ESTA application, visa, etc.).
Splinter Meetings
Three splinter meetings are scheduled during the conference, one each during lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, all will take place in Building 3 near Hanger 1, a ~10 min walk from Building 152 (in the upper right portion of this map). People who wish to attend can sign-up for these two splinters at the conference and also purchase a boxed lunch to take to the splinter meeting with you. Each will last for approximately 1 hour.
Tuesday lunchtime splinter meeting: Kepler Data and Tools for Users - Building 3 at 12:30 pm
Download the slides from this splinter meeting here.
We will discuss the many data products and tools available to Kepler users. There will also be time for users to suggest additional data products and tools that they would like to see included in the archives and Kepler Science Office. Specific areas to be discussed are:
- Current and legacy data products - Susan Thompson
- Kepler data tools - Martin Still
- MAST Archive - Scott Fleming
- NASA Exoplanet Archive - Rachel Akeson
- Community Follow-up Program (CFOP) - David Ciardi
Wednesday: TESS Guest Investigator Session - Building 3 at 1:00 pm
download the slides from this splinter meeting here.
As part of the Phase A concept study, the TESS team developed a Science Enhancement Option of a Guest Investigator (GI) program that would allows members of the astronomical community to propose observations for general astrophysics. The GI program is conceptually based upon the Kepler Guest Observer program, and the TESS team hopes to take advantage of lessons learned from the Kepler GO experience. This session will include only a short talk about the concept of the TESS GI program, and then will be open for general discussion about how to design and optimize this Science Enhancement Option.
Thursday: The Future of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program - Building 3 at 12:45 pm
Download the slides from this splinter meeting here.
Gary Blackwood of the Exoplanet Exploration Program Office (JPL) and Doug Hudgins of the Exoplanet Exploration Program (NASA HQ) will describe the current and upcoming missions and ground observations within the scope of the Exoplanet Exploration Program (ExEP) and NASA Astrophysics to advance exoplanet science. Those include AFTA, LBTI, probe-scale missions for starshade and coronagraph, Kepler, TESS, and JWST. We will also describe the science community involvement and the technology investments we are making to enable these future missions. We will solicit feedback from the science community on the science priorities, mission possibilities, and science community engagement by the program.
If you would like to hold a splinter meeting during the conference, please send an email with your request (# of people, date, time) to Mark Messersmith. Space will also be available during the conference for impromptu splinter meetings on a first come, first served basis.
Remote Attendance and Mirror Sites
All talks will be streamed live and archived for later viewing. You may tune into the live presentations using Adobe Connect and ask questions via the chat function. Selected questions will be read out loud at the conference as time allows. Adobe Flash Player is required to use Adobe Connect. If you do not have flash player installed on your system, download it here.
The URL for the live stream is http://connect.arc.nasa.gov/kepler. You can also test your computer's connection to Ames using this link: https://connect.arc.nasa.gov/keplertest?guestName=Kepler. If you encounter any problems connecting, please contact Marco Boldt for help.
Mirror sites will be available at the following NASA Astrobiology Institute nodes:
- Penn State NAI node (point of contact: Chris House)
- University of Washington/VPL NAI Node (point of contact: Vikki Meadows)
- NAI Hawaii Team (point of contact: Karen Meech)
- NAI Goddard Space Flight Center Team
Announcements
There will be an opening reception at NASA Ames on Sunday evening, Nov. 3 from 5-7 pm. Registration materials will be available for pickup at this time.
The final program will be published on September 30; scroll up on this page to see the general topics that will be covered each day.
Email us at keplerII@ipac.caltech.edu to be added to our e-mail list for conference announcements.
Speaker Information and Abstract Submission
Click here to submit an abstract and for presentation information.
All abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Organizing Committee (SOC); all abstracts may not be accepted for presentation at the conference.
Hotel, Travel, and Local Information
Click here for information on the conference venue, accommodations, and travel. Check back for updates.
Important Dates
- August 1, 2013: Meeting registration and abstract submission open
- September 6, 2013: Abstract Submission Deadline
- September 20, 2013: Foreign National Registration Closed
- September 30, 2013: Final Program Published Online and Talk/Poster Decision Date
- October 3, 2013: Deadline for reserving rooms if you wish to stay at the NASA Exchange Lodge
- October 25, 2013: On-line Registration Closed for US Citizens
- November 4-8, 2013: Conference at NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA
Participant List
Organizing Committees
Questions: KeplerII@ipac.caltech.edu