Volume 23, March 2006 - Upcoming Meetings

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The Galactic Center Workshop 2006 will be devoted to the presentation and discussion of the most recent observational and theoretical results on the center of the Milky Way and on other low-luminosity galactic nuclei in the local neighborhood. It will continue the tradition of the previous Galactic Center (GC) workshops, 1998 in Tucson, Arizona, and 2002 in Kona, Hawaii. While the main emphasis of the workshop will be clearly set on the center of the Milky Way, as a new feature in GC 2006, there will be a widening of the perspective to include other nearby low-luminosity galactic nuclei as well. This will serve to apply the detailed knowledge that has been gathered so far on the center of our own Galaxy to other systems as well as to place the center of the Milky Way into the broader context of quiescent/low-luminosity galactic nuclei. The latter will be especially important for topics such as accretion and emission mechanisms of highly under-luminous central black holes or the role and mechanisms of massive star formation in galactic nuclei.

The full scientific program is now available from the Web site, http://www.ph1.uni-koeln.de/GC06/ . Sessions include

1. Large Scale Structures in the GC: ISM and Magnetic Fields
2. Large Scale Structures in the GC/Surveys
3. Star Formation in the Center of the Milky Way
4. The Nuclear Stellar Cluster of the Milky Way
5. The Nuclei of Nearby Galaxies
6. Observations of Sagittarius A*
7. Sagittarius A*: Observations and Theory

Abstract deadline: March 1 (!!)

The symposium will focus on "mapping" the interstellar media and other components in galactic disks, bulges, halos, and central regions of galaxies. Thanks to recent progress in observations using radio interferometers and optical/infrared telescopes in ground and space, our knowledge on structures of our Galaxy and nearby galaxies has been growing for the last decade. Yet we do not fully understand the physics behind the observational results, and a number of questions still remain : What is the origin of spiral structure?; How should the global star formation rate be determined?; What causes the differences between our Galaxy and other nearby galaxies?; What differentiates galaxies with starburst/AGN activity from normal galaxies?

The current set of sessions is

1. ``Basic Components of the Galaxy and Spiral Galaxies''
2. ``The Galactic Center and Central Region of Galaxies''
3. ``Nearby Galaxies''
4. ``Galactic Evolution and Environment''

This symposium is also planned in celebration of Professor Yoshiaki Sofue's 63th birthday and his retirement from the University of Tokyo. Although Prof. Sofue has worked mainly in the field of radio astronomy, the subjects in this conference reflect the wide range of research in which he has been active in over the past four decades.

For more information, see http://www.ioa.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/galaxy2006/

In the past, they were recognized as the most destructive force in nature. Now, following a cascade of astonishing discoveries, supermassive black holes have undergone a dramatic shift in paradigm. Astronomers are finding out that these objects may have been critical to the formation of structure in the early universe, spawning bursts of star formation, planets, and even life itself. They may have contributed as much as half of all the radiation produced after the Big Bang, and at least 300 million of them may now be lurking through the vast expanses of the observable cosmos. The most accessible among them appears to be lurking at the Center of our own Galaxy.

For more information, see http://qso.lanl.gov/meetings/meet2006/index.html

http://www.astronomy2006.com/
This summer's IAU meeting will see a number of discussions on the Galactic Center.

Invited Discourse 4 will take place at 18:15 on Tuesday, August 22. Dr. Reinhard Genzel will deliver the keynote address, ``The Power of New Experimental Techniques in Astronomy: Zooming in on the Black Hole in the Center of the Milky Way.''

Symposium 238, ``Black Holes: from Stars to Galaxies - across the Range of Masses'' runs from August 21 to 25 and will have a session on the Galactic Center

The IAU Division VII: The Galactic System, whose current president is Dr. Patricia Whitelock (South African Astronomical Observatory), is considering making a working group on the Galactic Center and Nearby Normal Nuclei. To this end, they are sponsoring a one-day meeting on these topics at the IAU on Monday, August 21. The current schedule for this Division VII session is

1. HESS results
2. Radio Shadow of Sgr A*
3. Theory of Accretion & Flares
4. Star Clusters and Star Formation in the GC
5. The Young Star Disks in the Central pc
6. Origin of Young Stars in Central pc
7. Overview of GC