[ASA] First Announcement: Supernovae in the Local Universe, Coffs Harbour, 11-15 Aug 2014

[Bryan Gaensler]

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: 2014 CAASTRO ANNUAL SCIENCE CONFERENCE

SUPERNOVAE IN THE LOCAL UNIVERSE: CELEBRATING 10,000 DAYS OF SUPERNOVA 1987A

11th-15th August 2014
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia

SUMMARY:
- A conference on the physics of nearby supernovae
- WWW site: http://caastro.org/event/2014-supernova
- Registration opens 1 Dec 2013
- Email supernova at caastro.org to ensure you receive further announcements

(Apologies if you receive multiple copies of this announcement. Please
circulate to interested colleagues.)

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RATIONALE: Supernovae are a core element of modern astrophysics, providing
fundamental insights into stellar evolution, the interstellar medium,
astroparticle physics, nucleosynthesis and cosmology. While astronomers now
routinely detect enormous numbers of supernovae every year at increasingly
large distances, wide-field surveys and all-sky monitoring are now providing
an important new element to such studies: there are a growing number of new
supernovae being discovered very close to home.

Our modern understanding of supernovae in the local Universe began with
Supernova 1987A, for which mid-2014 marks 10,000 days since its discovery.
Since that singular event, many other supernovae have been found within tens
of megaparsecs of Earth. These events have allowed detailed studies of
individual sources and their environments, providing new physical insight on
progenitor stars, explosion mechanisms and their aftermath.

At this conference we will explore all the rich information that nearby
supernovae now provide, and will discuss ways in which the new generation of
wide-field surveys can further add to this harvest. Topics to be discussed
will include:

* Observations and modelling of individual nearby supernovae
* Observations and constraints on supernova progenitors
* Progenitor mass loss, pre-supernova activity and supernova "imposters"
* Theories of core collapse, thermonuclear supernovae and explosion mechanisms
* Supernova 1987A at 10,000 days
* Historical supernovae, young supernova remnants and light echoes
* Wide-field surveys, automated classification and new types of transients
* Future instruments: SKA, LSST, eROSITA

INITIAL LIST OF INVITED SPEAKERS (all confirmed)

Thierry Foglizzo        France
Haley Gomez             UK
Mansi Kasliwal          USA
Dick McCray             USA
Raffaella Margutti      USA
Tara Murphy             Australia
Peter Nugent            USA
Armin Rest              USA
Fritz Röpke             Germany
Stephen Smartt          UK
Nathan Smith            USA             
Sung-Chul Yoon          Korea

This meeting is the second in the annual series of CAASTRO conferences in
wide-field astronomy, and will be held in Coffs Harbour, 500 km north of
Sydeny on the east coast of Australia. Coffs Harbour is a beautiful coastal
town of 25,000 people, surrounded by national parks and unspoilt beaches.
Coffs Harbour airport (CFS) is serviced by all major Australian airlines,
with multiple direct flights per day from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

KEY DATES

Registration/abstracts open  :  1 Dec 2013
Abstract Deadline            : 15 May 2014
Early Registration Deadline  : 15 May 2014
Final Program                : 15 Jun 2014


SCIENTIFIC ORGANISING COMMITTEE

Stéphane Blondin        France
Roger Chevalier         USA
Claes Fransson          Sweden
Bryan Gaensler          Australia, chair
Avishay Gal-Yam         Israel
Norbert Langer          Germany
Kate Maguire            UK
Maryam Modjaz           USA
Ken'ichi Nomoto         Japan
Alicia Soderberg        USA
Brian Schmidt           Australia
Stuart Sim              UK

LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE

Michael Childress       ANU / CAASTRO
Bryan Gaensler          U. Sydney / CAASTRO
Kate Gunn               U. Sydney / CAASTRO
Brad Tucker             ANU
Kylie Williams          U. Sydney / CAASTRO
Fang Yuan               ANU / CAASTRO

WWW site: http://caastro.org/event/2014-supernova
For information on the conference, please email supernova at caastro.org.