May 13, 2015: EXTREME SOLAR SYSTEMS III — Hawai’i — Nov 29 - Dec 4, 2015

This conference, the third in a series that began in 2007 (Santorini meeting on Extreme Solar Systems, followed by Extreme Solar Systems II in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in 2011) will cover all aspects of research on exoplanets. It will take place at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on the Big Island of Hawai'i. The dates of the meeting happen to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the paper by Mayor & Queloz reporting the discovery of 51 Peg b, in November 1995. The latest information and updates on the meeting will always be available online at:

http://ciera.northwestern.edu/Hawaii2015.php

Please check this web page often for updates as we will NOT be sending emails like this one very frequently.


CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION

The scientific organization will be handled by an international committee with 27 members, co-chaired by Michel Mayor (Geneva Observatory) and Fred Rasio (CIERA, Northwestern University). The local organizing committee is chaired by Nader Haghighipour (University of Hawaii). All SOC and LOC members are listed on the conference web page.

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is handling most of the conference logistics for us. In particular, they are taking care of registration (now open) and abstract submissions (through the summer, with a deadline around mid-September).


REGISTRATION

Registration for the meeting is now open!  The registration fee is US $495 through June 17 (early registration deadline), and then increases to US $600 through Nov 3. The fee includes the opening reception (with food and drinks) and a traditional Hawaiian banquet at the hotel. Please register as early as possible as we may well need to close registration early if we reach our limit of about 300 participants.

To register online with a credit card, or to access the paper registration form (for payments by check or money order) please go to the following AAS web page:

http://aas.org/meetings/ess/registration

If you encounter any problem with the online registration process, or have any question about registration for the conference, please email Lynn Ervin, reg-help@aas.org at the AAS (and not any of us on the SOC or LOC!).


CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, TALKS AND POSTERS

The conference program will start on Sunday evening, Nov 29, with an opening reception. The talk sessions will be from Monday morning through Friday afternoon, with a half-day break on Wednesday afternoon. The banquet will most likely be on Friday evening at the hotel.

Abstract submissions (for a poster paper or talk — limit one per participant) will take place between July and September. Only registered participants will be invited to submit an abstract.

By the end of October we hope that the SOC will have designed a first tentative schedule of talks. There is enough room at the hotel for every participant who is not selected as a speaker to present a poster, and all posters will remain on display for the whole week.


CONFERENCE HOTEL AND LOCATION

The meeting will take place at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort, located on the sunny Kohala Coast, about half an hour North of the town of Kailua-Kona. More information about the hotel can be found at:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/koamc-waikoloa-beach-marriott-resort-and-spa/

For more details and information on booking a room please go to this AAS web page: 

http://aas.org/ess-3rd-meeting/extreme-solar-systems-iii-meeting-travel-and-lodging  

The conference room rates are from US $145 per night and are guaranteed through October 27.

The hotel is within walking distance of two major shopping centers (Kings’ Shops and Queens’ MarketPlace) that also offer many options for reasonably priced food.

Major attractions on the Big Island of Hawai’i include Volcanoes National Park, where Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 2008 (http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava2.htm), scuba and snorkeling, tropical forests around Hilo and the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, the Waipi'o Valley, and, of course, the Mauna Kea Summit and its many telescopes.


TRAVEL

The nearest airport is Kona International Airport (KOA), about 20 miles from the hotel. It is serviced by most major airlines.

Important note: the conference starts right after a major holiday in the US (the long weekend following Thanksgiving Day, on Thursday Nov 26). This provides an opportunity for US participants to combine a vacation in Hawaii with their trip to the meeting. However, it will make flying to Hawaii just before the start of the meeting especially challenging. In particular, flights on Sunday, Nov 29 (end of the holiday weekend), will be expensive and fully booked early. By far the best days to travel to the meeting from or through the US would be on Thanksgiving Day or the next day (Thu-Fri before the conference), as those are days when very few people usually take flights in the US.