Apr 25 2015
The American Astronomical Society's Solar Physics Division (AAS/SPD) and the American Geophysical Union's Space Physics and Aeronomy Section (AGU/SPA) will meet together at the Westin Indianapolis in Indiana for the first Triennial Earth-Sun Summit (TESS), 26-30 April 2015.
The meeting's charter is to unify study of the entire connected Earth-Sun system by sharing and connecting the latest science results concerning the Sun, its heliosphere, planetary magnetospheres, and planetary upper atmospheres.
Journalists attending the meeting can learn about the latest research in heliophysics, connecting the Sun and Earth and their mutual environment in space, and will have direct access to the principals for press releases and a press briefing at 10:00 AM EDT, Tuesday, 28 April.
Complimentary press registration for the conference is now available for bona fide working journalists and public-information officers (PIOs); see details below. The abstracts and meeting program are now online and searchable at the main meeting website: http://aas.org/meetings/tess2015
The TESS meeting's scientific highlights include plenary presentations by noted scientists summarizing the state of each of the four major subtopics of heliophysics: Dr. Bart De Pontieu (solar physics), Dr. Justin Kasper (heliospheric physics), Dr. Janet Kozyra (magnetospheric science), and Dr. Tim Fuller-Rowell (upper atmospheric science). Session topics include the latest science results from state-of-the-art computer modeling of the Sun-Earth system, recent eclipse expeditions, NASA missions including IRIS and MAVEN, and ground-based observatories from radio telescopes to the Big Bear Solar Observatory.
Several Town Hall meetings will allow attendees to hear from, and provide feedback to, senior representatives from NASA, NSF, and DKIST, the world's largest solar telescope (currently under construction in Hawaii). Additional workshop focus groups will advance knowledge in multiple-wavelength solar observations, nonlinear statistics, and data analysis techniques.