DECEMBER 2006 - TOPICS

Short News The 8th Hellenic Astronomical Conference ESA opportunities for the GAIA Mission Members in new positions Upcoming Astronomy meetings in Greece About this Newsletter

1. SHORT NEWS

We would like to congratulate Dr. Ioannis Georgantopoulos who was recently appointed as a member to ESA's Astronomy Working Group. The minutes of the first meeting of the new Governing Council of Hel.A.S. which took place in Athens on October 6, 2006, are available at: http://www.astro.auth.gr/elaset/events/GC_06Oct06.pdf

2. THE 8th CONFERENCE OF HELAS

The forthcoming 8th Astronomical Conference of Hel.A.S. will take place at the island of Thasos from 13-15 of Se.ptember 2007. More information will be available in the upcoming newsletters.

3. ESA OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE GAIA MISSION

The Science Directorate of ESA is releasedy the Announcement of Opportunity for the constitution of the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC). The Gaia mission, a global astrometric survey mission, is an element of ESA's Scientific Programme, which has recently entered the implementation phase and which is foreseen to be launched in December 2011. Proposals are solicited for the Gaia DPAC, which will build and operate the Gaia data processing ground segment, a single processing pipeline leasing directly to the intermediate and final mission products. The deadline for the responce to the AO is 11 December 2006. For more information visit: http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=40326

4. MEMBERS IN NEW POSITIONS

Dr. Evanthia Hatziminaoglou recently moved from the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, in Tenerife (Spain) to the European Southern Observatory - Garching (Germany), as VO Facility Centre Astronomer.

5. UPCOMING ASTRONOMY MEETINGS IN GREECE

The following meetings will take place in Greece. Please check the corresponding web page or contact the organizers by e-mail for more information.

Community of European Solar Radio Astronomers (CESRA) Workshop "Solar Radio Physics and the Flare-CME Relationship" Ioannina, June 12-16, 2006 3rd Coronal Loops Workshop Santorini Island, 18 - 21 June 2007 Extreme solar Systems Santorini Island, 24 - 29 June 2007 X-ray Surveys: Evolution of Accretion, Star-formation and Large Scale Structure Rhodes Island, 2 - 6 July 2007 8th Hellenic Astronomical Conference Thasos Island, 13 - 15 September 2007 Chaos in Astronomy Athens, 17 - 20 September 2007

6. ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER

This Newsletter was sent to all members of Hel.A.S. who have e-mail access. The next edition of the Newsletter will be mailed around January 1st 2007. Please send your announcements (e.g. appointments/departures,job openings, research opportunities, awards, conferences in Greece) or comments before December 25, 2006. If you do not wish to receive future issues of this Newsletter or the e-mail address to which it was sent is not your preferred one, please inform the Secretary of Hel.A.S.