International astronomy conference comes to UF

April 8, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Astronomers from around the world are coming to the University of Florida this week to discuss the origins of stars, planets, and galaxies.

The conference, named “From Stars to Galaxies,” runs from Wednesday to Friday in the Reitz Union. More than 200 participants from six continents will participate, in addition to 30 students, postdoctorates and faculty from UF.

“We think this is likely to be the largest meeting specifically on star galaxy formation anywhere in the world this year,” said Jonathan Tan, an assistant professor of astronomy and a conference organizer.

This conference is a follow-up to the conference, “From Stars to Planets,” that was organized at the University three years ago.

“UF is continuing to become a world leader in the ‘origins’ research topics, that is the formation of galaxies, stars and planets,” said Tan. “Studying these research fields gives us insights into our cosmic history, our place in the universe and the potential for life to exist beyond our solar system.”

The conference will have a presentation for the non-astronomy general public, at 6:30 p.m. Friday in room 1001 in the New Physics Building.

The presentation is called, “Our Cosmic History: From Big Bang to Big Molecules,” and is presented by Mordecai Mac Low (American Museum of Natural History and Columbia University) and Paola Caselli (University of Leeds).