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04-07-2013
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Astronomy, Radio Sources and Society: The Wonderful Century

Submitter: Wendy Williams
Description: In June 2013, Leiden Observatory hosted the Astronomy, Radio Sources and Society, The Wonderful Century symposium sponsored in part by ASTRON. Held in the impressive Leidse Schouwburg, the symposium brought together many of today's top research astronomers, science policy makers, science communicators and educators, and members of the media. The symposium celebrated Professor George Miley's achievements throughout his 50-year career: from his discovery of the most distant object in the Universe and his proposal for LOFAR, to his directorship of Leiden Observatory in times of change and his initiation of the international educational programme designed to inspire children with astronomy, UNAWE.

The first day covered topics ranging from the successes of big astronomy projects across the world and the lessons learned from them, to the role of astronomy in stimulating social and economical growth. The day culminated in an exciting public evening featuring a musical performance and topics on the theme of how Astronomy can be used as a unique tool to help stimulate global development. The final 3 days of the symposium covered the topic of Radio Galaxies and their use as probes of the evolution of the Universe featuring, amongst others, some new results from LOFAR as well as the potential for advances with next generation astronomical facilities. Michael Garrett closed the conference with a talk on the past, present and future of Radio Astronomy, ending with the presentation of a fine bottle of Irish whiskey to George Miley as a gift from ASTRON for his service over the years.
Copyright: Steven Rieder/Sterrewacht Leiden
 
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