Sometimes the thrill of uncovering the true nature of the Universe doesn’t quite last all day. Today… well it’s really boring and slow. I tried to work - I really did. I stared at a paper I am writing for at least an hour but nothing came out of my head and into the document. Wait, I lied; there was a spelling correction I think.
So why am I telling you this? You came here for astronomy news, right? Well sometimes my PhD is really very slow and for some reason, I need you to know that. Currently my university projects are:
Editing conference proceedings for .Astronomy
Pestering speakers to hand in conference proceedings for .Astronomy
Writing a paper dealing with emission from infalling protostars
Organising the Star Formation Christmas Dinner (a Mexican for some reason)
Waiting for the response from a telescope proposal (I’ve managed to do this one all day!)
Creating the new Observatory website
Writing a cool web app that simulates an aspect of star formation
As you can see, there is plenty to do. I just can’t do it today. I can’t focus, I can’t think and nor can I write a decent blog post either.
Is anyone else out there having a witless day? If you are - may I suggest going home? It’ll be more productive. I have a meeting at 4 so am obliged to sit and wait. Maybe I’ll get so bored, I’ll actually do some work.
I am running a conference in September and I’m inviting astronomers and astronomy bloggers from anywhere! If you’re interested in how astronomy and the internet can combine to produce new and interesting tools for research and communication then this conference is for you.
Astronomy is facing a paradigm shift. The huge quantities of data that are being created by a new generation of surveys and instruments will require new ways of thinking. At the same time, an ever-more connected world is bringing astronomy to the masses via a new media, made up of blogs, podcasts, social networks and more.
Google Sky and Microsoft’s Worldwide Telescope have taken astronomy into the home with stunning elegance. Data mining, robotic telescopes and virtual observatories will soon take petabytes of data to a global audience of professionals and amateurs.
Communication and networking technologies are changing science, for both researchers and the public alike. The .astronomy conference will discuss the ideas and methods emerging in this new era and the way in which they present interesting and novel opportunities for both conducting and communicating astronomy.
We have invited several notable people to speak at the conference (including fellow bloggers Chris, Stuart, Pamela, Phil and Emily) and I’m pleased to say that the confirmations have begun coming in. I will be blogging once in a while via Orbiting Frog, but mainly the news and updates will be posted on the conference webpage (RSS).
The conference will run from Monday 22nd to Wednesday 24th September 2008. It will take place at Cardiff University. To read more or to pre-register please visit our website or follow the .astronomy Twitter feed.
Chris Lintott, over on his blog, has been reporting from the American Astronomical Meeting (AAS). In one post he has been detailing how astronomers have died over the years (yikes) and generally he has been covering talks which he has attended. Check it out.
