| Description: | It is only May, but in 2015 astronomers in the Netherlands already discovered giant rings around an exoplanet; a star catapulted by its supernova-going companion; the space-time bending of a double neutron star; and merging clusters revive star formation; and gamma-ray sources in the Large Magellanic Cloud. These and many other results were presented and discussed at the Netherlands Astronomy Conference 2015, in Nunspeet. ASTRON was proud to host NAC2015, 20-22 May, and showcase the breadth and depth of Dutch astronomy. Thanks to the LOC and SOC, the conference was very successful.
As you can see in the pictures, the conference was built up around a series of talks and posters. During coffee, over lunch/dinner, and at night, there was ample time to discuss and network. Thanks to one afternoon with three parallel sessions there was enough limelight to go around. A special session on Supercomputing in Astronomy featured a series of modeling and instrument talks, including one on SKA by Paul Alexander. The evening session on the first night, themed "Gender Diversity in Astronomy", was opened by a speech by minister Bussemaker. Two great talks by Brage and Rudolf next set the scene for a lively discussion by a panel and the audience, structured around 5 provocative propositions. The results go back to the minister. |
