The NEON schools

 

For the 2013 events, see here 


The NEON observing schools (FP7-II series)

 

After the end of the FP6 Marie Curie program,
the Network of European Observatories in the North (NEON)
is continuing the organisation of a New Series of Schools,
under the auspices of Opticon .
A new contract has been signed for the period 2013-2016

With respect to the earlier series (see here for more details, and reports), the Neon consortium has been enlarged
and the participating observatories are now:

Asiago Observatory (Italy),
Calar Alto Observatory (Germany-Spain)
European Southern Observatory (ESO-Garching)
Haute-Provence Observatory (France), and
La Palma observatories (UK-Netherlands- Nordic Countries-Spain).

The purpose of the school is to provide opportunity to gain practical observationnal experience at the telescope, in observatories with state of the art instrumentation. To this effect, the school proposes tutorial observations in small groups of 4 or 5 students, under the guidance of an experienced observer, centered around a small research project and going through all steps of a standard observing program. Some introductory and complementary lectures will be given by experts in the field.

The school is placed under the responsability of a steering committee composed (as of 2010) of:

Prof. Michel Dennefeld (Institut d'Astrophysique, Paris) (Chair)
Dr. Roland Gredel (Heidelberg)
Dr. Alessandro Pizzella (Asiago Observatory)
(to be completed for the new period 2013-2016)




The school is open principally to students working on a PhD thesis in Astronomy or Post-docs in the field, and which are nationals of a Member State or an Associated State of the European Union (but see specific conditions for each school). The working langage is english. Up to twenty participants will be selected by the organising committee.

The NEW Series intends to broaden the scope of the schools, to include, beyond observations, the use of archival data (ground and space) and some detailed insight into specific instrumentation. Additionnal expertise is provided with the support of the Opticon Network.
 
 

European Community funding has been obtained within Opticon ,
allowing to cover all the local expenses of the students.
In duly justified cases, a contribution to travel costs can be envisaged also,
specially for students coming from less-favoured countries.
EU students working outside Europe are particularly encouraged to participate.
 
  In 2013, an observing school will take place at:

-The eleventh Observing School directly at the telescope,  at
  La Palma Observatory (Spain), from July 14 to July 27, 2013

 
For more details about the 2013 School, see the Neon2013 page.
Registration will open in January 2013

Michel Dennefeld , Coordinator of the NEON schools.

If you are interested in details about previous schools,  see our corresponding page on this site.