As well as hearing from speakers from ESA and NASA during the “Dialogue with Space Agencies” session at EPSC2020, there will be an opportunity to put your questions to the panel.
If you have questions for Lori Glaze (NASA), Luigi Colangeli (Head of the Science Coordination Office – Directorate of Science, ESA), and Loredana Bessone (Directorate of Human Space Flight and Operations, ESA), please submit them via this form, or Tweet us using the hashtags #EPSC2020 #AskEsaNasa
Brush strokes quivering with fever and emotion… Points of yellow light that barely breathe in the dark blue of the sky… The line of the horizon is imperceptibly drawn… Vincent Van Gogh has just put down his brush, still looking doubtfully at his Starry Night. But, not on the Earth. He’s on Mars.
What would the painter have seen if he had been on the Red Planet? What feeling would it inspire in him? These are the questions that George Cann, a PhD candidate at University College London and co-founder of Oxia Palus, an AI art-startup, has tried to answer with his work presented at EPSC2020.
In his work, George applies a new technique in machine learning, called style transfer, to emulate what the Dutch painter might have painted had the artist visited Mars.
“I think living with art that you can relate to is important, but for planetary scientists that’s tricky. Not many artists have gone into space and even fewer have gone to Mars,” says George. “Our aim is thus to try to explore a possible way, making people excited about the future and highlighting the incredible achievements of the planetary science community in exploring Mars”.
And the results are amazing, as demonstrated by the piece “A Martian eclipse, Phobos transits the Sun at sunset” representing the famous image captured by NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in a style that seems to keep the spirit of Van Gogh’s masterpieces intact.
Will these AI art techniques replace artists in the future? George doesn’t think they will anytime soon: “They’re tools that act as an extension of an artist. They’re certainly not perfect in replicating artistic style.”
For more information about the work, you can have a look at George’s talk, Transfer of style from an ensemble of van Gogh paintings to Martian landscape imagery via deep convolutional neural networks, during the EPSC2020 session ODAA4 on Thursday 1st October, or download all of the featured work at: https://www.oxia-palus.com/.
On the left: “A Martian eclipse, Phobos transits the Sun at sunset”, created using style transfer starting from the famous photo of the Martian sunset captured by NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (on the right).
The Planetary Science Wiki Edit-a-thon, organised by the Diversity Committee of the Europlanet Society in collaboration with WikiMujeres, Women in Red, WikiDonne, Wikimedia Belgium, and 500 Women Scientists, is an ongoing project. The main objective is to highlight diversity within the planetary science community.
EPSC2022 Wiki-Edit-a-thon
Once more, a Wiki Edit-a-thon took place during the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022. It kicked off with a splinter session on Sunday 18 September from 16:15-17:15, which provided basic training to start editing/writing Wikipedia articles.
Writing sessions will took place daily in the Wiki Edit-a-thon booth (part of the Europlanet stands in the main exhibition hall, on the left-hand side as you walk in from the entrance to the Palacio de Congresos de Granada).
A group has met for ongoing monthly meetings and continued to add and translate profiles. EPSC2022 will be an opportunity to expand the group and develop more new profiles and translations.
The Planetary Science Wiki Edit-a-thon was launched at EPSC2020 in a virtual splinter session on Tuesday 22 September that was convened by Arianna Piccialli (BIRA-IASB) and included presentations by Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight (Women in Red), Camelia Boban (WikiDonne), Jessica Wade (University of London), and Maryam Zaringhalam (500 Women Scientists):
A training session took place one week before EPSC2020 on 17 September:
The EPSC2020 Planetary Science Wiki Edit-a-thon wass organised by the Diversity Committee of the Europlanet Society and Europlanet 2024 RI, in collaboration with Women in Red and WikiDonne.
EPSC2020: Farinella Prize 2020 Awarded to Jonathan Fortney and Heather Knutson
Prof Jonathan Fortney, an American astrophysicists working at the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Prof Heather Knutson, an American astronomer working at the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences of the California Institute of Technology, have been awarded jointly the 2020 Paolo Farinella Prize for their significant contributions in our understanding of the structure, evolution and atmospheric dynamics of giant planets. The award ceremony will take place today during the EPSC 2020 virtual meeting and will be followed by 15-minute prize lectures by the winners.
The annual prize was established in 2010 to honour the memory of the Italian scientist Paolo Farinella (1953-2000). The award acknowledges an outstanding researcher not older than 47 years (the age of Farinella when he passed away) who has achieved important results in one of Farinella’s fields of work. Each year the Prize focuses on a different research area and in 2020, the tenth edition was devoted to the giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune but also giant exoplanets.
Prof Fortney’s theoretical work has led to a much better understanding of the atmospheres, interiors, and evolution of giant planets. He has been able to provide theoretical evidence that helium in Saturn’s interior is dramatically concentrated into a helium-rich shell. He has demonstrated that the pattern of enrichment in heavy elements in the Solar System’s giant planets, compared to the Sun, is also a relationship seen in giant exoplanets. He has also developed sophisticated models of giant exoplanet atmospheres to understand their emitted spectra and atmospheric circulation.
Prof Knutson transformed scientists’ approach of observations of exoplanets. In 2007 she discovered day-night temperature contrasts in hot Jupiter HD 189733b, confirming theoretical predictions and launching the field of the observational characterisation of the dynamics of exoplanetary atmospheres. Since then, she led an ambitious observational program with both space-based and ground-based observatories to characterise hot Jupiters and sub-Neptune planets. She also showed that, contrary to common belief at the time, hot Jupiters are not solitary but at least half of them ‘have friends’ – more distant planetary-mass companions orbiting the same star.
Both Prof Knutson and Prof Fortney lead active groups involving young researchers and students. Altogether, their work is providing the basis to better characterise giant planets and understand the formation of planets.
Prof Fortney received his BS in Physics at Iowa State University and his PhD in planetary science at the University of Arizona. He is currently a Professor at the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics of the University of California in Santa Cruz and the Director of the Other Worlds Laboratory.
Prof Knutson received her BS in Physics at Johns Hopkins University and her PhD in astronomy at Harvard University. She currently holds the position of Professor in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology.
Prof Fortney commented: “I am honored to be selected for the 2020 Farinella Prize. I owe so much to my scientific mentors and collaborators who have helped me along the way. Paolo was an important scientist with a diverse range of interests and it is great to be associated with his contributions to science.”
Prof Knutson said: “I am honored to receive this prize, even if I never had any personal contact with Farinella, and wish that it was possible to accept it in person. On the plus side, the current pandemic has demonstrated just how easy it can be to make new connections with planetary scientists around the world if you’re willing to reach out. I hope that all of us continue to take advantage of these virtual opportunities to build community even after we return to pre-pandemic ways of doing science.”
For 2020, the Farinella Prize also honors the memory of Adam P. Showman, who had accepted to be part of the prize committee, but passed away unexpectedly, leaving an immense body of theoretical work to understand the dynamics of planetary atmospheres.
Tristan Guillot, President of the Farinella Prize Committee, said: “The past decade has seen great advances for our knowledge of giant planets both close to us, like Jupiter and Saturn, and much further for exoplanets. Heather Knutson and Jonathan Fortney have played a major part in those advances. The committee was unanimous in choosing them for the tenth Paolo Farinella Prize. It is also particularly fitting that both collaborated at some point in their career with Adam Showman: Adam was an inspiration for all of us, in particular in the field of the atmospheric dynamics of giant planets, until his untimely passing in February 2020. I’m sure that, as Paolo, he would have been proud of these nominations.”
About the Paolo Farinella Prize The Paolo Farinella Prize (http://www.europlanet-eu.org/paolo-farinella-prize) was established to honour the memory and the outstanding figure of Paolo Farinella (1953-2000), an extraordinary scientist and person, in recognition of significant contributions given in the fields of interest of Farinella, which span from planetary sciences to space geodesy, fundamental physics, science popularization, and security in space, weapons control and disarmament. The winner of the prize is selected each year on the basis of his/her overall research results in a chosen field, among candidates with international and interdisciplinary collaborations, not older than 47 years, the age of Farinella when he passed away, at the date of 25 March 2000.
The prize was first proposed during the “International Workshop on Paolo Farinella the scientist and the man,” held in Pisa in 2010, supported by the University of Pisa, ISTI/CNR and by IAPS-INAF (Rome).
The “Paolo Farinella Prize” has been awarded:
In 2011 to William Bottke, for his contribution to the field of “physics and dynamics of small solar system bodies.”
In 2012 the Prize went to John Chambers, for his contribution to the field of “formation and early evolution of the solar system”.
In 2013, to Patrick Michel, for his work in the field of “collisional processes in the solar system”.
In 2014 to David Vokrouhlicky for his contributions to “our understanding of the dynamics and physics of solar system, including how pressure from solar radiation affects the orbits of both asteroids and artificial satellites”.
In 2015 to Nicolas Biver for his studies of “the molecular and isotopic composition of cometary volatiles by means of submillimeter and millimeter ground and space observations”.
In 2016 to Dr. Kleomenis Tsiganis for “his studies of the applications of celestial mechanics to the dynamics of planetary systems, including the development of the Nice model”.
In 2017, to Simone Marchi, for his contributions to “understanding the complex problems related to the impact history and physical evolution of the inner Solar System, including the Moon”.
In 2018, to Francis Nimmo, for his contributions in our “understanding of the internal structure and evolution of icy bodies in the Solar System and the resulting influence on their surface processes”.
In 2019, to Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo, for their outstanding collaborative work for the “observational characterization of the Kuiper belt and the Neptune-trojan population”.
Images
Prof. Jonathan Fortney, winner of the Farinella Prize 2020. Credit: J. Fortney
Farinella Prize Winner 2020: Jonathan Fortney. Credit: J. FortneyFarinella Prize Winner 2020: Heather Knutson. Credit: H Knutson
Science Contacts
Prof Jonathan Fortney Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics University of California, Santa Cruz 1156 High St. 205 CfAO (Center for Adaptive Optics) Santa Cruz, CA 95064 jfortney@ucsc.edu
Prof Heather Knutson, California Institute of Technology Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences 1200 E California Blvd MC 150-21 Pasadena, CA 91125 USA hknutson@caltech.edu
About the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020 EPSC (https://www.epsc2020.eu/) will take place as a virtual meeting for the first time in 2020 from 21 September to 9 October. The meeting has a hybrid format of asynchronous presentations and discussion alongside a programme of live webinars.
The Europlanet Science Congress (formerly the European Planetary Science Congress) is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet Society. With a track record of 14 years and regularly attracting around 1000 participants, the Europlanet Science Congress is the largest planetary science meeting in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences with an extensive mix of talks, workshops and poster sessions while providing a unique space for networking and exchange of experiences.
Follow on Twitter via @europlanetmedia and using the hashtag #EPSC2020
Europlanet Since 2005, Europlanet (www.europlanet-society.org) has provided Europe’s planetary science community with a platform to exchange ideas and personnel, share research tools, data and facilities, define key science goals for the future, and engage stakeholders, policy makers and European citizens with planetary science. The Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871149 to provide access to state-of-the-art research facilities and a mechanism to coordinate Europe’s planetary science community.
The Europlanet Society promotes the advancement of European planetary science and related fields for the benefit of the community and is open to individual and organisational members. The Europlanet Society is the parent organisation of the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC).
Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement 2020 awarded jointly to Dr Sheila Kanani and The Travelling Telescope
The 2020 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement with Planetary Science has been awarded jointly to Dr Sheila Kanani and to the team behind The Travelling Telescope, Susan Murabana and Daniel Chu Owen.
Dr Sheila Kanani is a planetary physicist, broadcaster, comedian, author and teacher, with a background in research as part of the Cassini science team, studying Saturn’s magnetosphere. She is the co-founder of the STEMMsisters charity, a STEM ambassador and a representative of ScienceGrrl. Since 2014, she has been the Education, Outreach and Diversity Officer of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), where she has transformed the public engagement activity of the Society, delivering a comprehensive programme across the UK, concentrating on areas of socioeconomic deprivation and cultural diversity. She has written five non-fiction books for children, including two space themed books, and has just signed to write a further two science books for children.
Since establishing The Travelling Telescope in 2014, Susan Murabana and Daniel Chu Owen have enabled hundreds of thousands of children to engage with planetary science and astronomy by bringing a portable 12-inch telescope, an inflatable planetarium and outreach resources to remote and underserved regions of Kenya. In January 2020, they completed the construction of the first digital planetarium in East Africa. The Nairobi Planetarium has been built in a low-cost and environmentally sustainable way using bamboo harvested at the site. Susan Murabana is the president of the newly formed Africa Planetarium Association and the United Nations Space4Women mentor 2020.
José Antonio Gordillo Martorell, Chair of the Europlanet Outreach Jury, said, “This is the first time that we have awarded two Europlanet Prizes for Public Engagement in the same year. Sheila Kanani and The Travelling Telescopehave both made outstanding contributions to reaching diverse communities, showing profound personal commitment and innovative approaches to inspiring young people through planetary science and astronomy. We are delighted to have two such worthy winners.”
An awards ceremony will take place during the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020 virtual meeting on Tuesday 22nd September and this will be followed by 15-minute prize lectures by the winners. Both winners will receive an award of 4000 Euros.
Dr Becky Parker, Chair of the Education and Outreach Committee of the RAS, said: “I cannot think of any person more actively engaged in promoting physics and astronomy than Sheila. Collaborators all value her clear and purposeful determination to raise the profile of physics and astronomy and develop engagement in a number of new ways, always thinking about how to support teachers and students. In this extraordinary time of COVID 19, she has been incredibly innovative, providing online activities, teacher training, national activities. Her commitment to such a range of public engagement activities well beyond her day job is phenomenal.”
Dr Mark SubbaRao, President of the International Planetarium Society, said: “Susan and Chu are advocates for astronomy and planetary science education across Africa. The Travelling Telescope is an incredibly important model for Africa, where it is difficult to rely on support from government, or private donations. Whether in the planetarium or at the eyepiece of the telescope, I was struck with the enthusiasm and passion with which Chu and Susan communicated science to everyone from world leaders to small children. I also saw how they hired and mentored many local astronomy students, nurturing the next generation of Kenyan scientists and outreach professionals.”
Dr Sheila Kanani said: “I’m honoured and quite speechless to win this award, especially in being able to share it with such esteemed colleagues in Africa. I’ve always been entirely supported in my endeavours by my family and friends, which has led me to want to support others to be part of the wonderful world of astronomy. Being able to include the space diversity aspects into my job has also been extremely fulfilling, after all, we all share the same sky and earth, so I hope I can help others enjoy space as it has so inspired me!”
Sheila at a book signing at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Credit: Helen Giles
Dr Sheila Kanani. Credit: Lynda Laird
Susan Murabana leading an observing session. Credit: The Travelling TelescopeDaniel Chu Owen leading a school session. Credit: The Travelling Telescope
Planetarium Show. Credit: The Travelling Telescope
Locals viewing the Milky Way near Maasai Mara. Credit: The Travelling Telescope
A student from Chumani School observing Saturn. Credit: The Travelling Telescope
The Travelling Telescope school visit. Credit: The Travelling Telescope
Observing session with The Travelling Telescope. Credit: The Travelling Telescope
A student enjoying a session of building and operating a robot to complete a mission during one of the Travelling Telescope’s Airbus Space Workshops. Credit: The Travelling Telescope.
Girls in STEM session. Credit: The Travelling Telescope
Daniel Chu Owen. Credit: The Travelling Telescope
Susan Murabana. Credit: The Travelling Telescope
Observing session with The Travelling Telescope. Credit: The Travelling Telescope.
Contacts Dr Sheila Kanani Royal Astronomical Society skanani@ras.ac.uk
Susan Murabana CEO and Co-Founder The Travelling Telescope smurabana@travellingtelescope.co.uk
Daniel Chu Owen, Technical Director and Co-Founder The Travelling Telescope chu@travellingtelescope.co.uk
Dr Robert Massey Royal Astronomical Society rmassey@ras.ac.uk
About the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020
EPSC (https://www.epsc2020.eu/) will take place as a virtual meeting for the first time in 2020 from 21 September to 9 October. The meeting has a hybrid format of asynchronous presentations and discussion alongside a programme of live webinars.
The Europlanet Science Congress (formerly the European Planetary Science Congress) is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet Society. With a track record of 14 years and regularly attracting around 1000 participants, the Europlanet Science Congress is the largest planetary science meeting in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences with an extensive mix of talks, workshops and poster sessions while providing a unique space for networking and exchange of experiences.
Follow on Twitter via @europlanetmedia and using the hashtag #EPSC2020
About Europlanet
Since 2005, Europlanet (www.europlanet-society.org) has provided Europe’s planetary science community with a platform to exchange ideas and personnel, share research tools, data and facilities, define key science goals for the future, and engage stakeholders, policy makers and European citizens with planetary science.
The Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871149 to provide access to state-of-the-art research facilities and a mechanism to coordinate Europe’s planetary science community.
The Europlanet Society promotes the advancement of European planetary science and related fields for the benefit of the community and is open to individual and organisational members. The Europlanet Society is the parent organisation of the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC).
The Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement
The Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement with Planetary Science (https://www.europlanet-society.org/prize/) aims to recognise achievements in engaging European citizens with planetary science and to raise the profile of outreach within the scientific community. Established by Europlanet in 2010, the Prize is awarded to individuals or groups who have developed innovative practices in planetary science communication and whose efforts have significantly contributed to a wider public engagement with planetary science. The 2020 Prize has been supported by the University of Kent.
The Europlanet Society Congress 2020 (#EPSC2020) invited members of the public, schools and space enthusiasts of all ages to get creative and share their artworks and performances inspired by other worlds in a contest called #InspiredByOtherWorlds.
Voting
Members of the public were asked to cast their votes for their favorite artwork. The vote is now closed.
The winning artwork was announced during a dedicated virtual award ceremony on 22nd December at 16:00 CET. See the winners orwatch the recording of the award ceremony on YouTube.
This gallery shows the submissions we received for the contest:
EPSC2020: Parker Solar Probe, Akatsuki and Earth-bound observers give rare top-to surface glimpse of Venus
Observations of Venus by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, JAXA’s Akatsuki mission and astronomers around the world have given a rare cloud-top-to-surface glimpse of the Earth’s neighbouring planet. The results are being presented this week at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020, which is taking place as a virtual meeting from 21 September – 9 October.
On 11 July 2020, the Parker Solar Probe, which is travelling to the inner Solar System to catch particles of the outer atmosphere of the Sun, completed the third of a series of flybys of Venus. From 19 June to 18 July, astronomers and members of the Akatsuki science team joined forces to support the probe’s encounter through a coordinated campaign of observations. The ground-based observations were contributed largely by amateur astronomers.
A similar campaign will be carried out to support the flyby of Venus by ESA’s BepiColombo mission on 15 October 2020.
“The campaign has resulted in multiple, multi-level observations right from the surface to the cloud-tops and airglow phenomena, which have given us unique insights into Venus’s atmosphere,” said Ricardo Hueso, a former member of ESA’s Venus Express mission and coordinator of the amateur participation. “The opportunity to observe Venus with so many instruments and with such a large collaboration means that we can enhance the scientific value of these short visits by the Parker Solar Probe and BepiColombo to Venus.”
Venus is the brightest object we see in the night-sky aside from the Moon. Although it is the most similar planet in size to the Earth, it is a radically different world. Its thick atmosphere, composed mainly of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, keeps the surface at temperatures of 460 degrees Celsius and pressures comparable to those found at the depths of Earth’s oceans. The upper atmosphere is home to multiple cloud layers, made of sulphuric acid with traces of water, which move at hurricane-like speeds. Despite this hostile environment, the recent discovery of phosphine molecules in Venus atmosphere has reactivated speculation about the possible presence of ‘aerial’ microbial life existing in the upper clouds of the planet. Spacecraft passing close to Venus as they travel through the inner Solar System can gather valuable data to help us understand the planet’s properties and its evolution.
During the campaign, the Parker Solar Probe observed the nightside of the planet from the surface to the upper atmosphere and Akatsuki obtained data of the upper clouds. Back on Earth, researchers used the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) in Hawaii and the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) in La Palma to probe the deeper clouds of Venus on the night-side of the planet. Additional observations of the deeper clouds and Venus surface were obtained at Pic du Midi in France. Amateur astronomers observed the upper and middle clouds in ultraviolet, violet and near infrared wavelengths. Some amateur observers also managed to observe the Venus surface through the warm radiation escaping from the planet through Venus’s clouds.
The global ground-based support from professional telescopes was led by Javier Peralta, an astronomer who has coordinated similar campaigns in support of past missions. The amateur ground-based support campaign was coordinated through the Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure.
“It was a really exciting opportunity to have researchers using the IRTF and NOT join forces with amateur astronomers to observe Venus at the same time as Parker and Akatsuki,” said Dr Peralta. “These observations have also given us the chance to monitor the evolution of a fast-moving, giant, longitudinal divide in the deeper clouds of Venus that has been previously observed between January and April 2020 by amateur astronomers.”
Observations continued and intensified throughout August, when Venus was best observed from the Earth, and will culminate in October, when the BepiColombo mission will flyby Venus on its journey to Mercury.
“There are clear signs of changes over time in the clouds of Venus if we compare observations by the Venus Express mission in 2006-2014 with more recent observations by Akatsuki since 2015. The data obtained by amateur and professional observers in these campaigns associated with flybys this summer and autumn will extend our knowledge of Venus weather and its variability,” said Dr Peralta.
EPSC Presentations
Wednesday 23 September, 10:10-10:450 CEST: Interview session about BepiColombo flyby of Venus with guests, Johannes Benkhoff, Ricardo Hueso and Javier Peralta: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC2020/session/38646
Simulation of a descent through Venus’s atmosphere to the surface by Oxford University’s Professor Patrick Irwin and Lightcurve Films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkeWhgwp7Xo&
Science Contacts:
Javier Peralta Coordinator of Parker Solar Probe Amateur Ground-based Support Algeciras Spain javier.peralta.calvillo@gmail.com
Figure 1: Akatsuki observations of Venus at the time of the Parker Solar Probe flyby. These observations sampled the upper atmosphere at roughly 70 km altitude above the surface. Credit: JAXA, Planet-C
Figure 2: Observations of Venus lower clouds in the night-side of the planet. Images from NOT acquired by J. Peralta (JAXA) and R. Baena (IAC). Images from IRTF acquired by E. Young (SwRI). These observations sampled the middle atmosphere at roughly 45-50 km altitude above the surface. Credit: NOT/ NASA, IRTF
Figure 3: Selection of amateur observations of Venus before, during and after the Parker Solar Probe flyby. These observations sampled Venus atmosphere from the surface to the upper clouds. These and many other amateur images are available at the PVOL database http://pvol2.ehu.eus. Credit: Emmanuel Kardasis/Sebastian Voltmer/Phil Miles/Joaquin Camarena/Luigi Morrone
Further information:
About the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020
EPSC (https://www.epsc2020.eu/) will take place as a virtual meeting for the first time in 2020 from 21 September to 9 October. The meeting has a hybrid format of asynchronous presentations and discussion alongside a programme of live webinars.
The Europlanet Science Congress (formerly the European Planetary Science Congress) is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet Society. With a track record of 14 years and regularly attracting around 1000 participants, the Europlanet Science Congress is the largest planetary science meeting in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences with an extensive mix of talks, workshops and poster sessions while providing a unique space for networking and exchange of experiences.
Follow on Twitter via @europlanetmedia and using the hashtag #EPSC2020
About Europlanet
Since 2005, Europlanet (www.europlanet-society.org) has provided Europe’s planetary science community with a platform to exchange ideas and personnel, share research tools, data and facilities, define key science goals for the future, and engage stakeholders, policy makers and European citizens with planetary science.
The Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871149 to provide access to state-of-the-art research facilities and a mechanism to coordinate Europe’s planetary science community.
The Europlanet Society promotes the advancement of European planetary science and related fields for the benefit of the community and is open to individual and organisational members. The Europlanet Society is the parent organisation of the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC).
Media Announcement: Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020 – Monday 21 September – 9October 2020
The 2020 Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) will take place as a virtual meeting from Monday 21 September to Friday 9 October 2020. This is the first time that EPSC has taken place as an online conference. The EPSC2020 programme covers the full spectrum of planetary science and technology across 47 sessions. More than 975 oral and poster presentations have been uploaded by planetary scientists from Europe, the US and around the world.
The EPSC2020 virtual meeting has a hybrid format of asynchronous presentations and discussion alongside a programme of live webinars. Scientific oral presentations have been submitted as pre-recorded 10-minute videos. Poster presentations are in PDF format, optimised for viewing on screen. The live programme includes daily briefings, interviews with members of the planetary science community, a “showcase” summary for each session, a keynote lecture for each thematic programme group, prize lectures, community events, short courses and splinter meetings.
Details of the live programme, the scientific sessions and the presentations can be found at the official website:https://www.epsc2020.eu/
A limited number of press notices will be issued by the EPSC2020 Press Office during the meeting.
MEDIA REGISTRATION
Media representatives are cordially invited to attend the EPSC2020 meeting. Media registration is free. Any bona fide media delegates can register by e-mailing epsc-press@europlanet-society.org.
The EPSC2020 Press Office will provide support for media registered for the meeting in identifying presentations of interest and contacting authors.
The Europlanet Science Congress (https://www.epsc2020.eu/) formerly the European Planetary Science Congress, is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet Society. With a track record of 14 years, and regularly attracting around 1000 participants, EPSC is the largest planetary science meeting in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences with an extensive mix of talks, workshops and poster sessions, as well as providing a unique space for networking and exchanges of experiences.
Follow on Twitter via @europlanetmedia and using the hashtag #EPSC2020
About Europlanet
Since 2005, Europlanet (www.europlanet-society.org) has provided Europe’s planetary science community with a platform to exchange ideas and personnel, share research tools, data and facilities, define key science goals for the future, and engage stakeholders, policy makers and European citizens with planetary science.
The Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871149 to provide access to state-of-the-art research facilities and a mechanism to coordinate Europe’s planetary science community.
The Europlanet Society promotes the advancement of European planetary science and related fields for the benefit of the community and is open to individual and organisational members. The Europlanet Society is the parent organisation of the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC).
Niamh Shaw to host EPSC2020 Daily Briefings and Interviews
We are delighted to announce that Dr. Niamh Shaw will be hosting the Daily Briefings and Interviews for EPSC2020.
Dr Niamh Shaw. Credit: Steve Humphreys
Niamh is a member of the Europlanet Outreach committee for Ireland & UK. A polymath with 2 degrees in engineering, a PhD in science and almost 20 years of performance & writing experience, she has been providing events for the general public since 2014. A recent graduate of practical science communication at Cambridge University, Niamh was awarded ‘Outstanding contributions to STEM Communications’ by Science Foundation Ireland in 2018.
As keynote speaker she has spoken at prominent events including Áras an Uachtaráin on International Women’s Day 2019, the Department of Foreign Affairs Dublin on St Brigids Day 2020, WIRED Live UK, NASA Johnson Space Centre (USA), TEDxUCD and New Scientist (UK).
Her first book ‘Dream Big- an Irishwoman’s Space Odyssey’ from Mercier Press was published in March 2020 and she writes regularly for BBC’s Sky at Night magazine. Her new weekly podcast ‘Humans of Space’ on Spotify and Apple Podcasts is an in-depth chat targetted at the general public to highlight the interdisciplinary and international expertise in the space sector.
Whenever the pandemic is pushed back, Niamh plans to resume work on her project ‘Walking Slowly to Space’, a global walking project to meet & chat with diverse communities, & share & exchange ideas about science & space.
What’s coming up at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020? Find out about the role of the meeting for the planetary community and look ahead to EPSC 2021 in Helsinki and 2022 in Granada.
Find out about services provided for the planetary community by the Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) project, a 10 million Euro project funded by EU under H2020. Launched in February, Europlanet 2024 RI provides free access to the world’s largest collection of planetary simulation and analysis facilities, data services and tools, a ground-based observational network and programme of community support activities.
Guests: Gareth Davies (Transnational Access Facilities), Angelo Pio Rossi (Virtual Access Services), Manuel Scherf – Europlanet Telescope Network Coordinator)
How is the scientific community adapting to the pandemic and a rapidly changing world. How has publishing been affected by Covid-19? What are the longer-term implications? Will the move towards virtual meetings lead to a more environmentally sustainable conference programme in the future?
Guests: May Chiao (Chief Editor, Nature Astronomy), Ken Hiltner (Nearly Carbon Neutral Conference/ University of California at Santa Barbara)
Find out about planetary science in the field and the lab, including the search for and characterisation of meteorids, the anaologue opportunities of the Makgadikgadi salt pans, as well as art and music inspired by a visit to the analogue field site at the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia.
Guests: Giovanni Pratesi (Università degli Studi di Firenze), Fulvio Franchi (Botswana International University of Science and Technology).
How can the planetary community address inclusion, accessibility and diversity?
Guests: Solmaz Adeli (DLR, Europlanet Diversity Committee member, EPEC-EPSC Working Group Chair), Stefano Biagini (University of Kent), Melinda Dosa (Wigner Research Centre for Physics. Europlanet Widening Participation Officer)
The latest news on Mars exploration, in the context of the Perseverance rover on its way to Mars, and looking ahead to ExoMars, MMX and sample return missions.
Guests: JA Manfredi (CAB-INTA), Elliot Sefton-Nash – ESA
The Europlanet Society Congress 2020 (#EPSC2020) is inviting schools and space enthusiasts of all ages to get creative and share their artworks and performances inspired by other worlds in a contest called #InspiredByOtherWorlds.
Art is meant to inspire. Art is meant to be shared. Art allows us to go beyond our limits. Planetary science takes us beyond the limits of our world. What happens when a passion for art and a passion for exploring planets and other worlds meet? Let your imagination take us on a voyage through our Solar System and planets around distant stars! Show us how you have been inspired to create drawings, storytelling, pictures, videos, models, craft works or art installations at home.
You can choose planets, moons, asteroids, comets, meteorites, exoplanets, as single or multiple destinations for your creative journey, or show us how missions to explore planets have inspired you.
#InspiredByOtherWorlds entries will be showcased in a virtual exhibition and highlighted during a dedicated session during the Europlanet Science Congress 2020 (#EPSC2020), which is being held as a virtual meeting for the first time from 21 September – 9 October.
All artworks submitted will be considered by a panel of planetary scientists and artists. (Depending on entry numbers we may split into age/topic/type categories.) The winning artworks or performances will be shared via the Europlanet website, newsletters and social media and will be used to inspire young people in future Europlanet outreach activities.
For the first time, the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020, a scientific conference on planetary science, is opening its doors to schools and will give students a glimpse of how contemporary science is done.
Teachers and students are kindly invited to join us virtually with their classroom or educational institute (suggested age range 12-18 years old or older).
When: This autumn from the 21st of September – 9th of October 2020, presenters from all over the world will make their work available to schools to follow online. For 3 weeks, a list of topics on high level planetary science, ranging from the Moon to the exoplanets and laboratory experiments will be given.
Events:
Events:
1. List of scientific talks with plain language summary (available on-demand video)
2. Every week a Q&Α session with one of the experts will be broadcasted live, and the students will have the opportunity to pose questions to them.
3. Supporting workshops will be organised by both experienced and young researchers on introductory topics, targeted at students who wish to learn more about e.g.:
How we calculate the Age of the Earth
A trip to Antarctica to chase meteorites
Our solar system and its weird cousins
What is “Astrobiology”?
“Anatomy” of a Scientific talk (students vote their favourite scientific talk).
These activities are kindly being organised by the researchers of Lecturers without Borders, the Europlanet Early Career (EPEC) Network and the Diversity Committee of the Europlanet Society.
Please register your Intention to participate (non binding from your part), either in the live or in the recorded events, according to the technical capabilities of your classroom, in the following form:
Registration deadline for schools: 15th September 2020
Let’s open up science to young students and give them the chance to ask experts in planetary science questions directly! The events will be held in English, with a possibility of a follow-up in the native language of the speaker, if different from English (French, Greek and Russian are already included). More to be announced soon.
Arts Competition: Schools are also invited to participate in the EPSC arts contest #InspiredByOtherWorlds. If you have been inspired, create and share your drawings, storytelling, pictures, videos, models, craft works or art installations at home. The deadline for submissions is 31st of October. There are no age restrictions for participants. You can find more information on the contest at https://www.europlanet-society.org/outreach/inspiredbyotherworlds-arts-contest/ If you’d also like to share on social media please use the hashtags #InspiredByOtherWorlds #EPSC2020.
Webinar with Ulysse Pedreira-Segade (Rensselaer Astrobiology Research and Education Center (RARE), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY) and Julia Brodsky (Blue marble Institute of Science, Founder of Art of Inquiry) in English, Q&A session is possible to have in English and French. Description to be provided
Webinar with Ioannis Baziotis (Agricultural University of Athens) in English, Q&A session is possible to have in Greek
Antarctica represents a unique continent. It is the windiest, coldest, driest, highest continent on earth. Also, it is an ideal place to find meteorites. Mr. Baziotis was part of Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) mission, which is a cooperative effort by NASA, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution. At the webinar the students will learn about the difficulties to be in Antarctica, the passion for searching the rocks formed during the early Solar system, the motivation to wait until the dream of a scientist came true (selection for ANSMET). They will learn how the study of meteorites help us to understand the processes form the different components within our solar system, and how they really evolved through time. The participants, will learn what a meteorite is, and which are the primary features to look at, in order to identify their extra-terrestrial origin. Finally, the students, will have the chance to look (unfortunately through their screens) real meteorites.
Ioannis Baziotis is mineralogist-petrologist, studying a variety of rocks, both of terrestrial and extra-terrestrial origin. I.B. is assistant professor at the Agricultural University of Athens, with numerous International collaborations, published works, and dissemination activities. He is the only Greek who participated, in the highly prestigious –NASA-funded– mission, Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET).
Webinar with Kosmas Gazeas (University of Athens) in English, Q&A session is possible to have in Greek.
Kosmas will talk to us about Lunar Habitability and our current efforts for visiting permanently the Moon.
Kosmas Gazeas studied Physics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and received his postgraduate and doctoral degree in Observational Astrophysics from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Today, he is a Lecturer in Astrophysics at the Department of Physics of the University of Athens.His educational and research work focuses on the astronomical observation of double ecliptic stars, supernovae, blazar, and black holes. His post-doctoral research was conducted at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the US, where he worked with images of the Hubble Space Telescope (NASA). He worked at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands, focusing on space and technology.
– Oct 5th, 8am CET / Webinar (english) + Q&A (english&russian)
Our solar system and its weird cousins
Webinar with Georgy Makhatadze (University of Copenhagen) and Rajika Kuruwita (University of Copenhagen) in English, Q&A possible to have in English and Russian.
Are we unique? Or can solar systems like ours form easily? – and would that mean life can exist just as easily? We look at our own solar system and discover the diversity of worlds in it. We then look at evidence we have, such as meteorites from the Moon, Mars, and young planets, and discuss what it says about how our sun and planets form. Then we look at how other stars are forming and what other solar systems look like. We try to answer questions about: Is our solar system unique? What do observations of other solar systems say about our own system? How well does our theory of solar system formation work for all the different types of planets discovered? The lecture covers basics of different stars and planets related research fields. We don’t really pose any prerequisites fro students willing to listen in terms of what they know already but we cover a number of complicated concepts so we aim mostly at high schoolers.
Georgy Makhatadze is a PhD student working at the Centre for Star and Planet Formation, University of Copenhagen. Before that he graduated from the Faculty of Geology of Lomonosov Moscow State University. He has been engaging in science communication starting 2016, mostly by giving lectures.
Rajika Kuruwita is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen. I simulate the formation of stars to study their dynamical interactions and determine the influence these interactions could have on potential planet formation and population statistics.
Webinar with Athanasia Nikolaou (La Sapienza University of Rome) and Emmanuel Chaniotakis(Ellinogermaniki Agogi School) in English, Q&A is possible to have in Greek
Athanasia Nikolaou has studied physics in Athens, Greece, holds a MSc in climate science and a PhD in planetary science. She has worked in the Advanced Concepts Team of the European Space Agency in the Netherlands and in the German Aerospace Center in Germany. She is part of the international science consortium of the ARIEL space mission, currently working in La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Her research focuses on planetary evolution, the stability of dynamical systems and climate processes on early Earth and on exoplanets. She is a co-founder of Lecturers Without Borders. “
Emmanuel Chaniotakis is a Physicist with MSc in High Energy Physics, and works as a researcher at the RnD department of Ellinogermaniki Agogi School in Greece. His work is focused on: the design and implementation of ICT-enhanced, inquiry based educational activities in the field of Physics; Teacher training and support in ICT- enhanced, inquiry based science education; the organization and support of international training activities such as summer schools and the organization of educational competitions. He is a PhD candidate in Science Education at the Faculty of Educational Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Webinar with Sarah Rodriguez-Castillo (European Space Agency, The Netherlands) and Yaquelin Rosas (German Aerospace Center, Berlin) in English, Q&A session possible to have in Spanish.
The Early Careers Training and Education Portal provides information on PhD positions, job opportunities, summer schools, and meetings relevant to early career professionals working in planetary science and related fields.
Please send any information on PhD positions, job opportunities, summer schools, and meetings relevant to early career professionals working in planetary science and related fields to mentors@europlanet-society.org.
The Europlanet Mentorship Platform aims to help early career scientists to develop expertise, ask questions and discuss career plans with the support of more established members of the planetary community.
We are actively recruiting now! It is important for us to understand the need in the community for the Europlanet Mentoring Platform, so we encourage you to sign up now and let us know whether you would be interested in becoming a Mentor or Mentee.
The Europlanet Mentoring Platform will start with a pilot programme from September – December 2020, with a full service launched in January 2021.
Mentoring@EPSC
Mentoring@EPSC aims to provides support for early career scientists in navigating the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020 virtual meeting.
Although virtual events offer a lot of advantages, one major disadvantage they have is that it is difficult to get to know other people, particularly those in a more advanced stage of their career. Mentoring@EPSC will fill this gap by enabling one-to-one meetings between novice conference attendees and postdocs and experienced researchers.
If this is your first international conference or you are unsure about how to attend such an event virtually, join us as an EPSC Mentee here. If you are an experienced researcher and would be willing to support an early career professional and share some of your tips and knowledge, please join us as an EPSC Mentor here. The registered Mentors and Mentees will be able to meet via online meetings, organized at their own convenience, during the conference weeks.
The deadline to sign-up to the Mentoring@EPSC program is September 4, 2020.
We hope you will join us this fall as Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020 is held as a virtual meeting for the first time. Ensure you don’t miss a thing by registering now for full access to talks, poster sessions, workshops and panel discussions.
Participant registration is free for Europlanet Society Members.
We have already sent out the first batch of Participant Registration Codes so check your email inbox. These codes entitle all Europlanet Society members to free Participant Registration at EPSC 2020.
If you have not recieved one double check your inbox and junkmail, then check the status of your Europlanet Society membership. If your membership expires before the conference will begin, you have not been sent a personal registration code yet. Renew your membership now to ensure you do not miss out on Free Participant Registration.
We will be sending out Participant Registration Codes every few days so check your inbox after you renew, and email us at membership@europlanet-society.org if you have any questions.
How do I use my Participant Registration Code?
First hop over to our www.epsc2020.eu/registration and click the link to register. You will need to create an account before you can see the registration form.
The place to enter your code is right near the top. Afterwards the Participant Registration fee will be waived.
Not yet a Europlanet Society Member?
It is never too late to join! Sign-up now now and benefit from many perks, including free participant registration to EPSC 2020. Visit our members page for more details.
Calling all PhD students – showcase your research in #PlanetaryScience4All video contest
The Europlanet Early Career (EPEC) Communication working group is giving all PhD students involved in planetary science the opportunity to showcase their research through a 4-minute video contest called #PlanetaryScience4All.
The deadline for submissions is 31 August 2020. All the videos submitted will be shown during a dedicated session during the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2020, which is being held as a virtual meeting for the first time from 21 September – 9 October. The winner will be announced at the end of the virtual conference.
The winner of the competion will receive a free registration for EPSC 2021, which will be held Helsinki, Finland, from 19-24 September 2021. The winning video will be also shared via the Europlanet website, newsletters and social media and will be used to inspire young people in future EPEC outreach activities.
Europlanet 2024 RI has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871149.
Europlanet AISBL (Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif - 0800.634.634) is hosted by the Department of Planetary Atmospheres of the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Avenue Circulaire 3, B-1180 Brussels, Belgium.
