Our Local Universe
Studies of the nearby Universe and their wider implications

Final Announcement

Scope of workshop

The nearby Universe offers an opportunity for detailed studies of galaxy groups, galaxies and their stellar populations, which can provide answers to astrophysical questions of relevance to the entire history of galaxy and structure formation. The aim of this workshop is to address these issues, by drawing from the joint expertise existing in both Durham & Edinburgh. We expect to consider the following topics (with other related contributions more than welcomed):

- formation of stars in galaxies, using both resolved stellar population studies of local group galaxies, and integrated stellar population studies.

- assembly of galaxies and galaxy structure: from stellar streams to the missing satellite problem.

- astrophysics at the galaxy centre: from black hole accretion to AGN feedback, including properties and hosts of AGN activity.

- study of actively accreting stars and supernovae.

Programme

The provisional programme for the workshop is now available.

Please note, talk slots are 20 minutes each, which should include a few mintutes for questions.

View a list of participants who have registered for the meeting.

Time

This two-day workshop will start at 11:30 (coffee from 11:00) on Wednesday 3rd September and will finish around 16:00 on Thursday 4th September. Durham participants should be able to travel up to Edinburgh on the morning of Wednesday 3rd September.

The workshop will be held in the lecture theatre of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. Directions on how to reach the Royal Observatory are given here, together with a zoomable map.

Registration

There is no formal registration fee. However, the cost of the conference dinner (see below) is to be paid by the participants. We are grateful to the IfA for providing the daily lunches.

Registration is now closed. Any additional queries should be addressed to DEX[at]roe.ac.uk .

Social Events

On the Wednesday evening, participants of the workshop have the opportunity to enjoy a workshop dinner in Namaste Kathmandu, an Indian restaurant at the heart of Edinburgh (just off the Royal Mile). The dinner cost has been fixed to £23 per person, including popadoms, a selection of starters and main courses, rice and naan breads, as well as a reasonable amount of drinks. Please pay £23 to Dougal Mackey (Edinburgh participants) or Lindsay Borrero (Durham participants) as soon as possible and no later than August 25th.

After the dinner, the evening is free for anyone to discover what Edinburgh nights have to offer: the central location of the restaurant should certainly help in getting to the right place.

Accommodation: guest houses

The participants have to make their own way to the workshop from the various accommodations listed below.
Quoted prices are intended as a guide only and depend on the type of room desired (single, twin/double for single or shared occupancy, etc).

All the listed guest houses are about 15 minutes walk from the ROE site and are well located for public transport to the centre of Edinburgh and Waverley Station (about 15 minutes by bus or 10 minutes by taxi).

September is high season for tourism in Edinburgh, so we advise booking your accommodation as soon as possible.

The guest houses listed below may be viewed on a map, in relation to the Institute for Astronomy.

Mayfield Lodge
75 Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3AA
Phone: +44 (0) 131 662 8899
Fax: +44 (0) 131 662 8899
Email: HalaMayfield@aol.com
Price: £30-40 per person per night.

Smiths' Guest House
77 Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3AA
Phone: +44 (0) 131 667 2524
Fax: +44 (0) 131 668 4455
Email: Smithsguesthouse@btconnect.com
Price: £40 per person per night.

Highfield Guest House
83 Mayfield Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3AE
Phone: +44 (0) 131 667 8717
Fax: +44 (0) 131 668 3006
Email: info@highfieldgh.co.uk
Price: £40-60 per person per night.

Lauderville Guest House
52 Mayfield Road, Edinburgh, EH9 2NH
Phone: +44 (0) 131 667 7788.
Email: res@laudervilleguesthouse.co.uk
Price: £45-60 per person per night.

Classic House
50 Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 2NH
Phone: +44 (0) 131 667 5847.
Fax: +44 (0) 131 662 1016
Email: info@classichouse.demon.co.uk

The Sylvern
22 West Mayfield, Edinburgh EH9 1TQ
Phone: +44 (0) 131 667 1241 (mobile: 0774 006 2844).
Price: £45 per person per night.

21 West Mayfield (not on web)
21 West Mayfield, Edinburgh EH9 1TQ
Phone: +44 (0) 131 668 2148.

Please have a look at this webpage for more accommodation opportunities, where "Lower end prices" correspond to "up to £40", "Mid-range" to "up to £80", and "Upper" "more than £80". Bed & Breakfast (B&B) accommodation is unlikely to be found at less than £25 per person.

The Edinburgh Local Organising Committee:
Philip Best, Dougal Mackey, Peder Norberg & Ben Panter.

in collaboration with Durham:
Dave Alexander, Carlton Baugh, Lindsay Borrero & Bret Lehmer.

Scientific organising committee:
TBA

Email address: DEX[at]roe.ac.uk