The infrared wavelength range is key to understand the origin and evolution of galaxies, stars and planetary systems, which are obscured by dust during a large part of their life cycles. With a large cold mirror and a sensitive suite of instruments, SPICA, recently selected as a candidate for ESA’s Cosmic Visions program, stands poised to revolutionize these fields by providing ultra-deep spectroscopy in the 12-230 µm range, as well as imaging (17-37 µm and 100-350 µm) and polarimetry (100-350 µm). With launch planned for 2030, SPICA will complement current and upcoming facilities, filling the spectral gap between JWST and ALMA, while providing a huge leap over previous infrared space missions. We would like to invite the international astronomical community to participate in the conference, Exploring the Infrared Universe: The Promise of SPICA, which will take place on the island of Crete on 20-23 May 2019. At this conference, participants will learn about the capabilities and current design of SPICA, which includes a significant Guest Observer program, while discussing the exciting scientific promise of the mission. Up to date information about the SPICA mission and its instruments can be found at http://www.spica-mission.org, in addition to links to a set of whitepapers recently published in the journal PASA, that focus on some of extragalactic science enabled by SPICA.
- The rise of metals and dust across cosmic time
- Feedback and feeding processes in galaxy evolution
- Star formation and the baryon cycle in galaxies
- Magnetic fields and turbulence in star formation
- Protoplanetary disks and the formation of habitable planets
- Debris disks, planetary systems, and the Solar system
- Susanne Aalto
- Yuri Aikawa
- Françoise Combes
- Bill Dent
- Edith Falgarone
- Davide Fedele
- Andrea Ferrara
- Javier Goicoechea
- Masateru Ishiguro
- Patrick Koch
- Leon Koopmans
- Ilse de Looze
- Roberto Maiolino
- Thomas Müller
- Tohru Nagao
- Klaus Pontoppidan
- Alexandra Pope
- Peter Roelfsema
For further information about the conference, please visit http://www.spica2019.org/
Looking forward to seeing you in Crete!
- Lee Armus
- Martin Giard
- Sue Madden
- Marc Audard
- Matt Griffin
- Mikako Matsuura
- Vassilis Charmandaris
- Doug Johnstone
- Stefanie Milam
- Carlotta Gruppioni
- Inga Kamp
- Paco Najarro
- Yasuo Doi
- Hidehiro Kaneda
- Takashi Onaka
- Eiichi Egami
- Ciska Kemper
- Luigi Spinoglio
- David Elbaz
- Kotaro Kohno
- Floris van der Tak (chair)
- Jan Tauber
Please send any comments or questions to naylor(at)uleth.ca