SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT (December 2008)
Bolides and Meteorite Falls
International conference on the occasion of the 50th anniversary
of the Pribram meteorite fall, and the 80th birthday of Zdenek
Ceplecha
Date: May 10-15, 2009
Place: Hotel Michael, Prague, Czech Republic
This announcement contains updates about the conference
program, registration, accommodation, abstract submission,
travel requirements, and post-conference excursion. Full
information can be found at the conference webpage
http://www.bolides09.com.
Scientific topics:
After the historical discovery of the small asteroid (or large
meteoroid) 2008 TC3, which produced the first predicted bolide,
we have added a new topic - observations of meteoroids in
space. The full list of scientific topics is:
- observation of bolides and superbolides (optical,
acoustic, space-borne, radar)
- interaction of large meteoroids with the atmosphere
(ablation, fragmentation, deceleration, radiation etc. -
observations and models); satellite re-entries
- derivation of meteoroid properties from bolide
observations, classification of meteoroids
- observation of meteoroids in space (e.g. 2008 TC3)
- meteorite dark flight, impact, strewn fields, craters
- physical properties of meteorites (density, porosity,
strength, fusion crust)
- meteorite and meteoroid flux, impact hazard
- meteorite delivery to the Earth, sources of meteorites
(comets as well?)
- existence of meteorite streams
- legal aspects of meteorite recovery and collection
- meteorites on other planets
Social program:
The welcome reception will be held in the main building of the
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Narodni 3, Prague
1, on Sunday, May 10. The building is located in the center of
Prague, near National Theater. The reception will be connected
with the opening of an exhibition "50 years from the recovery of
the Pribram meteorites". Preliminary schedule:
5 p.m. - registration desk will be opened
6 p.m. - ceremony of the opening of the exhibition
8 p.m. - end of reception
Refreshment for registered participants and accompanying
persons will be available from 5 p.m. to 8. p.m.
An excursion to the Ondrejov Observatory will be organized for
conference participants and accompanying persons in the
afternoon of Wednesday, May 13. Ondrejov Observatory,
located 40 km from Prague, was founded in 1898 and is
currently the headquarters of the Astronomical Institute of the
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Zdenek Ceplecha
has been working here since 1951. Ondrejov Observatory was
one of the two sites where the photographs of the Pribram bolide
were taken in 1959. Today, the observatory is a working place
for about 100 people and contains, apart from historical
buildings and a small museum, living astronomical instruments,
including a two-meter stellar telescope, a 65-cm telescope for
asteroidal observations, solar telescopes and radio telescopes
and, of course, bolide cameras. Preliminary schedule of the
excursion:
2 p.m. - departure from Hotel Michael
3 p.m. - arrival to Ondrejov, start of the excursion
6 p.m. - dinner at the observatory
7:30 p.m. - departure from Ondrejov
8:30 p.m. - arrival to Hotel Michael
A post-conference excursion will be organized on Saturday,
May 16, see below.
Registration:
On-line registration has been opened at the address:
https://secure.cbttravel.cz/bolides09/registration-onlinePlease, follow the instructions on the web page. The registration
will be completed only after the payment of the registration fee
is received. The registration fees are as follows:
Participant
Before March 1, 2009: 5800 CZK (about 230 EUR as of December 2008)
After March 1, 2009: 6400 CZK (~ 250 EUR)
The fee covers the participation in scientific sessions,
conference bag, program and abstracts, coffee breaks, welcome
reception, excursion to Ondrejov Observatory, and dinner at the
observatory. We currently do not plan to issue conference
proceedings.
Accompanying person
Before March 1, 2009: 1200 CZK (~ 50 EUR)
After March 1, 2009: 1450 CZK (~ 60 EUR)
The fee for accompanying persons covers the conference bag,
welcome reception, excursion to Ondrejov Observatory, and
dinner at the observatory.
The fees are payable by credit card, bank transfer or on site. On-
site registrations must be paid by credit card or cash (in Czech
Crowns) only. The registration desk will be open in the building
of Academy of Sciences from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on May 10 and
in Hotel Michael from May 11 to May 15. On Monday, the
registration will start at 8 a.m.
The organizers of the conference cannot provide any travel
support and cannot waive the registration fee.
Accommodation and lunches:
We recommend staying directly at the Hotel Michael. The
special price for conference participants (guaranteed for
reservations before March 10) is 90 EUR for single occupancy
and 115 EUR for double occupancy, including breakfast. The
online reservation form will be opened at conference website in
January. If you prefer other accommodation (more central or
cheaper), you are welcome to contact the conference secretariat.
There will be a special lunch menu at the Hotel Michael for the
fixed price 250 CZK (10 EUR), also available for conference
participants staying elsewhere. The lunch tickets can be ordered
on the registration page. It will be possible to buy a limited
number of lunch tickets at the registration desk. There are also a
few restaurants nearby.
Abstract submission:
Online abstract submission has been opened at the address:
https://secure.cbttravel.cz/bolides09/on-line-abstract-submissionThe deadline for abstract submission is February 15, 2009.
Please, follow the instructions on the webpage. The text can be
entered as ASCII text with special characters and mathematical
symbols coded in the LaTeX syntax. Figures and tables are not
allowed.
The scientific organizing committee reserves the right to transfer
any contribution from oral to poster or vice versa or refuse an
abstract altogether, if it does not fit in the conference format. In
such cases, the abstract author will be informed by February 25.
Travel requirements:
Citizens of some nations may require a visa to enter The Czech
Republic. As of November 2008, they include citizens of
Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Turkey, India, China, Tajikistan, South
Africa and many others. Please contact the nearest Czech
embassy for information. The list of Czech embassies can be
found at
http://www.czechembassy.org/. The Czech Republic is
one of the Schengen countries
(
http://www.axa-schengen.com/english/schengen-countries.html).
Valid visas for another country of the Schengen agreement are
good to enter The Czech Republic.
If you need an invitation to obtain a visa, please, contact Jiri
Borovicka (borovic@asu.cas.cz) and provide your full name,
date of birth, country of citizenship, passport number, the title
of your contribution, and your mailing address.
Excursion:
An optional excursion will be organized for conference
participants and accompanying persons on Saturday, May 16,
2009. We will visit the strewn field of the Pribram meteorites,
including some actual sites of meteorite recovery. This visit will
allow you also to enjoy the Czech countryside and small villages.
We will further visit the Konopiste Chateau, one of the most
beautiful Czech chateaux (
http://www.zamek-konopiste.cz/en/).
On the way to Konopiste, we will pass the predicted impact site
of Benesov meteorites, which were never recovered. On the way
back to Prague we will visit the Velke Popovice brewery, where
a famous Czech beer is produced
(
http://www.kozel.cz/en/homepage.html). This will be a full day
trip, from 9 a.m. to about 8 p.m.
The price of the excursion is 1900 CZK (~ 75 EUR) per person.
The price includes the bus ride, lunch in Konopiste, dinner in
Velke Popovice, and entries to Konopiste Castle and Velke
Popovice brewery. Please, reserve and pay the excursion on the
registration page. The excursion may be canceled if less than 15
persons are interested. In that case all payments will be fully
refunded.
Final announcement:
The third and final announcement, including the conference
program, will be mailed to registered participants at the
beginning of April 2009.
Contacts:
Program issues: Pavel Spurny (spurny@asu.cas.cz) or Jiri
Borovicka (borovic@asu.cas.cz)
Conference secretariat: Zina Peckova (bolides09@cbttravel.cz)
We are looking forward to seeing you in Prague!