The nineth Neon Observing school (school at the telescope) will take place at: 
  Moletai Observatory (Lituania) from July 14 to 27, 2011

The principles are the same as in previous schools: introductory lectures on topics of general interest,  work in small groups, 
execution of a real research project,  presentation of the results at the end of the school.

Observations will be made with: - The Moletai 1.65m and 0.63m telescopes for photometry
-The Nordic Optical Telescope (2.5m) in remote control for spectroscopy 

For practical (and travel) information, see the Moletai Web page
For technical information about the NOT, see the NOT Web page.

Preliminary program (under construction):

Day 1 (Thursday July 14): Arrival of the students
Day 2-4: Introductory lectures and preparation of the observations

Basics of telescope optics and image analysis (A. Pizzella, Padova)
Photometry ( J. Sudzius, Vilnius Univ. )
Low-resolution Spectroscopy (M. Dennefeld, IAP-Paris)
High-dispersion Spectroscopy (H. Korhonen, Univ. of Turku)

Introduction to reduction techniques

Night 3-8: Observations
Days 3-12:  Data reduction and analysis

Tutors will be: Th. Augusteijn, H. Korhonen, L. Morelli, E. Pakstiene and V. Laugalys
 
Additional lectures are foreseen  during the rest of the school:
Archival data
Adaptive Optics
VLT and ELT instrumentation
The history and evolution of telescopes
European observing facilities
etc...

Day 13 (Tuesday, July 26th): Presentation of the results; round table discussion on prospects in astrophysics
Day 14 (July 27th): Departure

The school is open to PhD students in Astronomy or Post-docs with limited observing experience from all over Europe.
Selection of candidates will be made by the steering committee (see the general information about Neon schools).

Financial conditions: the school is only funded through the Opticon I3 (EU) program.
Students from EU countries (or Associated Countries) can therefore benefit from grants to participate in this school.
This grant will cover all the local expenses, but not the travel costs. Participants will therefore
have to complement this by own resources from their home institute.
In exceptional cases (e.g. for students from less favoured countries), we will consider a contribution to travel expenses
(indicate your need, duly justified, on the general registration form)
EU citizen working presently outside Europe are specifically encouraged to apply.

Applications from students from other, circum-european (non EU-member) countries are encouraged also, in particular, those from the surrounding countries, as this school is also a chance to develop trans-national collaborations.
They will be considered generously and we will do our best to help with financial support, on a case by case basis.
 

Details about this particular school (schedule, practical information, etc...) will be posted regularly here.
For general information about the Neon schools, see the NEON Web page

The on-line registration  opened in December 2010 and is now closed.
The registration form is available at our page.  
 

Deadline for registration:   April 30th,  2011

The  list of selected  participants will be released end of  may  2011 .