A total of one hundred and sixty astronomers from twenty-six countries will gather in Cagliari from September 4 to 8, 2017, for the International Astronomical Union (IAU) symposium titled “Astrophysical Masers, Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe” organized, for the scientific part, by researchers Andrea Tarchi and Mark Reid (chair and co-chair of the Scientific Organizing Committee – SOC) from the INAF-OAC Astronomical Observatory of Cagliari and the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University, respectively.
In the halls of the Hotel Regina Margherita in Cagliari, over five intense days, eighty presentations and sixty-five scientific posters will be presented on the topic of “masers,” a particular type of electromagnetic emission that, through observation with radio telescopes, allows the identification of gas clouds in various astrophysical, galactic, and extragalactic environments. (See further details at the bottom of the page).
The exceptional and international nature of the event has also attracted significant interest from local institutions, so much so that, after the IAU itself, the Municipality of Cagliari has decided to sponsor the event, while the Union of Municipalities of Gerrei has contributed as a partner to its realization.
“We are particularly proud to host this IAU symposium for the first time in Europe on a topic, that of astronomical masers, in which national and Sardinian research groups are strongly involved and active in major international collaborations,” declares Andrea Tarchi.
The social program organized by the LOC is packed with activities such as the day in Gerrei. The astronomers will be guests for lunch in San Basilio and will continue with visits to the site of Pranu Muttedu near Goni (where sixty menhirs and other relics from the Copper Age have stood for over five thousand years) and to the Sardinia Radio Telescope, the large radio telescope managed by the INAF-OAC Astronomical Observatory of Cagliari, which is one of the most advanced instruments in the world for observing masers.
“Events like this,” declares Andrea Possenti, Director of INAF-OAC until 2018, when Emilio Molinari will take over, “show that, just four years after its inauguration, the creation of the Sardinia Radio Telescope was the right path to bring Sardinia and its talents to the forefront, becoming, in just a few years, a true global reference.”
The social dinner will be held in the splendid setting of the Court in Giorgino, owned by the Ballero family, where, every year on May 1 for almost half a millennium, Saint Efisio is paused to change clothes and the cart on the way to Pula. The international guests will thus have the unique opportunity to come into direct contact with the most beloved and cherished tradition of the people of Cagliari and Sardinians in general.
The logistical and organizational part has been entrusted to the Local Organizing Committee – LOC, coordinated by Silvia Casu, INAF-OAC researcher, and composed, in addition to Dr. Tarchi himself as co-chair, of Paola Castangia, Gabriele Surcis, Davide Coero Borga, Tiziana Coiana, Sergio Poppi, Pino Melis, and Paolo Soletta.
SYMPOSIUM ACTIVITIES OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
ASTROKIDS workshops for children: September 8 and 9
The outreach and educational activities are scheduled for Friday, September 8, 2017, at the Ex Manifattura Tabacchi in Cagliari. The event will open with a workshop for children aged seven to ten, titled “The Universe’s Barcode: Discovering the Electromagnetic Spectrum and Spectroscopy.”
The workshop, based on the INAF’s ASTROKIDS format, will be led by Silvia Casu, head of the Outreach and Education Area of the Astronomical Observatory of Cagliari, in collaboration with a group of students from the Pitagora Scientific High School of Selargius through a School-Work Alternation program.
Participation is free and requires registration via the following email: divulgazione@oa-cagliari.inaf.it.
The following day, September 9, the workshop will be held again in San Basilio.
SEPTEMBER 8 – PUBLIC LECTURE BY PIERO BENVENUTI, IAU GENERAL SECRETARY
After the children’s workshops, at 6:30 PM, the symposium will host the current Secretary General of the International Astronomical Union, Professor Piero Benvenuti, former academic of the University of Cagliari and former president of the National Institute of Astrophysics, who will speak on “Origin and Evolution of the Universe, What Science Can and Cannot Say.”
This will be an excellent opportunity to ask questions to Prof. Benvenuti as well as to other astronomers from the Observatory present for the occasion.
“Important congresses like an IAU Symposium cannot be thought of only as great opportunities for professionals, but they represent an unmissable opportunity to talk about science and research results with as wide an audience as possible,” declares Silvia Casu. “That’s why we decided to close the Symposium with a playful workshop for the little ones on topics related to light and spectroscopy and with a public meeting with prominent figures in the research landscape on topics of broad interest such as the origin and evolution of the Universe.”
At the end of the public lecture, a wine and cheese tasting will be offered by the symposium sponsors:
Ferruccio Deiana Winery, Aresu Cheese Factory, Chef Service, Acqua Smeraldina