RAS E-CIRCULAR, 2014 MAY
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* Future Meetings
* Call for articles for A&G
* Friends of the RAS
* Notes for Fellows
* RAS Jobs List
* Member Benefits
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RAS MEETINGS 2013-14
The RAS Ordinary and Specialist Discussion meeting programme for 2013-14 can be viewed on the Society's website at:
http://www.ras.org.uk/events-and-meetings/ras-meetings
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The 194th Annual General Meeting of the RAS will be held in the Lecture Theatre of the Geological Society on Friday 9 May at 16:00. Full details are available on the Society's website at:
http://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/news-archive/254-news-2014/2435-elections-and-agm
The AGM will be followed, from 17:00, by the Ordinary Meeting which will feature two special talks as follows:
Astonishing Astronomy and Glorious Geophysics (AA&GG)
To celebrate the bicentennial of the RAS, we are establishing an Outreach and Engagement fund to support projects and promote science in diverse sections of the community, and Officers of the Society will introduce this initiative.
Dr Stephen Feeney (Imperial College London)
"BICEP2's B-mode detection: have we seen (or jumped) the smoking gun of inflation?
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The two Specialist Discussion meetings on Friday 9 May will be on:
'Radio Intensity Mapping as a New Cosmological Tool'
held in the Geological Society Lecture Theatre (starting at 10:30).
and
'Seismology from Space: Geodetic Observations and Early Warning of Earthquakes'
held in the Royal Astronomical Society Lecture Theatre (starting at 10:30).
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RAS PUBLIC LECTURES 2013-14
The programme of RAS Public Lectures for the session 2013-14 may be viewed at:
http://www.ras.org.uk/events-and-meetings/public-lectures
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NAM 2014 (www.nam2014.org<http://www.nam2014.org/>)
The scientific programme for NAM2014 (June 23rd-26th) is now almost complete with over 480 abstract submissions to nearly 40 parallel sessions. A full final programme will soon be published on the NAM2014 website including all accepted talks and posters. The social programme for NAM2014 is complete with two public talks (Jo Bunkley, Lewis Dartnell), several public engagement events, conference banquet on the Victory, and a Science Comedy Supernova (including performances from Chris Lintott, Andrew Pontzen and John Culshaw). Our chancellor Sandi Toksvig will also be appearing. We further offer a "hack day" (sponsored by Githut), an STFC-sponsored "Industrial Applications in Astrophysics" session, and co-host a meeting of the "UKCosmo" community.
Registration for NAM2014 remains open until May 30th to book accommodation and tickets for these exciting events; please book early as some tickets are restricted and allocated on a "first come, first served" basis. We look forward to seeing you at our great waterfront city.
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JOINT GSL/RAS FERMOR MEETING ON COMPARATIVE PLANETOLOGY, 19-20 MAY 2014
RAS members are welcome to attend a 2-day conference jointly held by the RAS and the Geological Society on May 19/20 2014, at Burlington House. This meeting is planned to bring together scientists who are studying aspects of planetary science on terrestrial planets in the inner solar system. Presentations will fall under three broad themes: Planetary crusts and interiors, planetary surfaces and surface processes (including volcanism, tectonic activity, sedimentation, and impact cratering), and planetary climates and atmospheres. Links between the three themes will be investigated, to develop ideas of exchange between the interior, exterior and atmosphere of planetary-scale bodies.
The target audience is researchers currently active in planetary geology, including early career scientists in both the RAS and GSL communities. We have 6 keynote speakers (NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan ; David Mittlefehldt (NASA JSC); Sanjeev Gupta (Imperial College); Nick Tosca (St Andrews); Mary Bourke (Dublin); David Catling (Washington Seattle).
The weblink for the meeting is http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/fermor14
Registration details:
GSL fellows and RAS members: £100
Non fellows: £150
Students: £50
Retired: £55
People can register either online or by downloading the PDF registration form from the 'Downloads box' on the webpage, and sending a completed copy [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
RAS members need to select the 'Other Societies' option for registering online.
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6th Alfvén conference: Plasma interactions with solar system objects: anticipating Rosetta, Maven and Mars Orbiter Mission
This meeting will be held at UCL on 7-11 July 2014. See below for details:
Abstract submission and registration is open.
Conference website: http://bit.ly/alfven-2014
Abstract submission: http://bit.ly/alfven-abstract
Online registration: http://bit.ly/alfven-registration
Abstract deadline: 7 May
Early registration deadline: 7 May
Within our solar system, the planets, moons, comets and asteroids all have plasma interactions. The interaction depends on the nature of the object, particularly the presence of an atmosphere and a magnetic field. Even the size of the object matters through the finite gyroradius effect
and the scale height of cold ions of exospheric origin. It also depends on the upstream conditions, including position within the solar wind or the presence within a planetary magnetosphere. In the year when ESA's Rosetta will reach comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, NASA's Maven and ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission will reach Mars, and ESA's Venus Express mission is almost complete, this conference will explore our understanding of plasma interactions with comets, Mars, Venus, and inner and outer solar system moons. We will explore the processes which characterise the Interactions such as ion pickup and field draping, and their effects such as plasma escape. Data from current and recent space missions, modelling and theory are all encouraged, as we explore our local part of the 'plasma universe'.
Confirmed invited speakers: David Andrews, Stas Barabash, Dave Brain, Tom Cravens, Konrad Dennerl, Wing Ip, Bruce Jakosky, Xianzhe Jia, Geraint Jones, Esa Kallio, Christoph Koenders, Rickard Lundin, Christian Mazelle, Chris Paranicas, Martin Rubin, Yoshifumi Saito, Joachim Saur, Jim Slavin, Matt Taylor, Oleg Vaisberg and Olivier Witasse.
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CALL FOR ARTICLES FOR ASTRONOMY AND GEOPHYSICS
Have you considered writing an article about your work for the Society's magazine, Astronomy and Geophysics?
The Editor is looking for news items and topical review papers, communicating advances in your field to the many interested fellows working in related areas within the RAS sciences. If you wish to write a review paper, the Editor is looking for up to 6000 words plus figures and images, discussing an aspect of science within the RAS remit. A&G does not publish original research, but rather authors should refer to key publications in the peer reviewed literature. Although a serious scientific core to articles is expected, the Editor also likes papers that engage and intrigue, as well as inform, the reader.
If you are interested in writing for A&G, please do not hesitate to contact the Editor, Dr Sue Bowler, at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, or simply submit your manuscript at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/astrogeo
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RAS JOB LIST
The RAS Jobs List service provides email alerts for new posts for jobseekers, together with an online archive of previous mailings. For advertisers, it provides a free, moderated distribution service. Anyone can post or subscribe to the list. For further information visit:
http://www.ras.org.uk/education-and-careers/208-miscellaneous/221-jobslist
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FRIENDS OF THE RAS
If you know someone interested in astronomy who enjoys attending popular lectures and social events why not tell them about the 'Friends of the RAS'? See http://friends.ras.org.uk/
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NOTES FOR FELLOWS
You can now look at minutes of RAS Council meetings http://www.ras.org.uk/about-the-ras/council
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MEMBER BENEFITS
A reminder that RAS Fellows are eligible for discounts on a range of books, attractions, and journals (including free access to on-line editions of all RAS journals).
Of course, RAS Fellows also enjoy free admission to all Specialist Discussion meetings. In addition they have the use, subject to availability, of the new 100-seater lecture theatre and the 30-seater Council room in the RAS's refurbished Burlington House premises, as well as a superb, and comfortable, fellows room (especially useful as a London base for out-of-town members).
There is a continuing special offer whereby full-time (and some part-time)students studying astronomy, geophysics, or a related subject may join the Society for a first year's contribution of only £1 when they agree to pay by direct debit or by continuous credit-card payment. (There are no age restrictions)
If you're university-based and need someone to sign your RAS
membership application, or to provide other information, your first port of call should be your local Point of Contact (PoC)
http://www.ras.org.uk/membership/join
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To unsubscribe:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=ras&A=1
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Professor I. A. Crawford
RAS Senior Secretary
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Birkbeck College London
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/geology/our-staff/ian-crawford
