---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT International conference on PLANETARY NEBULAE AS ASTRONOMICAL TOOLS GDANSK (Poland) from Tuesday 28 June morning to Saturday 2 July evening 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * CONTACT e-mail: pngdansk@ncac.torun.pl http://www.ncac.torun.pl/~pngdansk/ * IMPORTANT DATES: Deadline for hotel reservation 28 May 2005 Deadline for early registration fees 28 May 2005 Registration and welcome 27 June 2005 Conference 28 June - 2 July, 2005 * SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION The conference will be held from Tuesday 28 June morning to Saturday 2 July (6 PM). Each session will start with two or three reviews, followed by oral contributions and poster presentations. Three discussions will be organized on specific topics, introduced by discussion leaders. - The reviews will be of 35 min + 5 min questions. - The oral presentations will be of 15 min + 5 min questions. - The discussions will be preceded by a 20 min introduction. - Posters can be advertized orally by their authors with one transparency, immediately before the poster session to which they belong. * POSTERS Posters will be on display during the entire conference. The maximum size of the posters is 1 m wide and 1.40 m high * CONFERENCE PROGRAMME The programme can be downloaded from http://www.ncac.torun.pl/~pngdansk/PNaat?slcn=programme * PUBLICATION Proceedings of the conference will be published, including reports of the discussions. More detailed information on the submission of the contributions for the proceedings will be provided later. We plan to post the electronic presentations and the posters on the conference website soon after the conference. We also plan to issue a cd-rom containing this material, to be distributed to all the conference participants. * PUBLIC OUTREACH PROGRAMME An art contest "Planetary Nebulae, Flowers of Cosmic Fields" will be organized for school children of the Gdansk region. The works will be exposed at the conference site during the entire conference. Prizes will be attributed on Monday 27 june afternoon, and a small snack will be served. After that we plan to show some films on planetary nebulae and astronomy in general. Astronomers are welcome to join. In the late afternoon an open public lecture on planetary nebulae and their role in the Universe will be given in Polish. * SOCIAL EVENTS DURING THE CONFERENCE - Monday evening: welcome cocktail - Tuesday evening: barbecue - Wednesday evening: concert - Thursday afternoon: guided tour in Gdansk - Thursday evening: conference dinner - Saturday evening: farewell * CURRENCY The polish currency is the zloty (PLN: guess why ?) The exchange rate on April 1 is 1 EUR = 4.08 PLN, 1 USD = 3.15 PLN. Note that it is subject to fluctuations. * REGISTRATION FEES AND PAYMENT Registration fees should be paid in Polish zlotys (PLN). Early registration fee (i.e. before May 28) is 850 PLN (about 208 EUR). After that date the registration fee is 1000 PLN (an equivalent of about 245 Euro). The fees cover conference materials, lunches from Tuesday to Saturday, coffee breaks, all the social events, one copy of the conference proceedings, one cd-rom with the conference presentations. Fees for accompanying persons are 300 PLN for adults and cover lunches and all the social events. There is no fee for accompanying children. Payments are possible with credit card or by bank transfer until May 28 (850 PLN) or with cash at the registration desk (1000 PLN). Secure Credit Card payment is managed by allpay.pl (http://allpay.pl/?newlang=en) internet service. To use this option you should go to http://wydra.ncac.torun.pl/~pngdansk/, select the "Fees & Payment" link in the menu on the left and then ress the "Online Payment" button; you will be directed to a secure order form provided by allpay.pl. For bank transfers, please use the following account: bank: Bank Przemyslowo - Handlowy PBK SA, Warszawa, Poland account: PL 29 1060 0076 0000 3310 0006 6351 swift: BPHKPLPK holder: Centrum Astronomiczne im. M. Kopernika PAN ul. Bartycka 18, 00-716 Warszawa, Poland Please make sure that the transfer is NET OF ALL CHARGES TO THE PAYEE. Do not forget to give your name and mention "planetary nebulae". In any case, please send an e-mail to pngdansk@ncac.torun.pl to inform the LOC about your payment. * CONFERENCE LOCATION The conference will take place in the buildings of the Gdansk Academy of Music (http://www.amuz.gda.pl/pds_pl.php?site=budynki&a=7), at walking distance from the old Center of Gdansk. The sessions will take place in the Concert hall (http://www.amuz.gda.pl/pds_pl.php?site=sala_koncert&a=7) Posters will be on display in an adjacent building where coffee will be served during breaks. Lunches will be served in the Restaurant of the Musician's House (Dom Muzyka in Polish), a contiguous building (http://www.dom-muzyka.pl/Restauracja.html) or on the lawn outside, if weather permits. * LODGING 1) We have made a block reservation of all the rooms of the Musician's House (http://www.dom-muzyka.pl/Oferta.html). 2) We have also made a block reservation of 10 single and 25 double rooms in the adjacent students' hostel (http://www.amuz.gda.pl/pds_pl.php?site=akademik&a=7) 3) A block reservation of higher standard rooms has also been made in the nearby Hotel Krolewski (http://www.hotelkrolewski.pl/WS4D_Cookie=31.3.05_19,11,13_33770/forms/hotel/gb/galeria1.ws4d) NOTE: The block reservations in the three places are valid only until May 28. * MAP OF GDANSK A map of Gdansk with the location of the Musician's House and Hotel Krolewski can be downloaded from http://wydra.ncac.torun.pl/~pngdansk/PNaat?slcn=lodging * HOTEL PRICES AND RESERVATION Participants are expected to make their own reservations. We strongly recommend to make the reservations before May 28, while the block reservation is still effective, as Gdansk is a busy touristic destination during summer. 1) Dom Muzyka ul. Lakowa 1/2, 80-743 Gdansk 36 single rooms @ 165 PLN 38 double or twin rooms @ 230 PLN (190 PLN for single use) 12 twin deluxe rooms @ 250 PLN (210 PLN for single use) 1 apartment @ 350 PLN additional bed: 65 PLN children under 4: free all prices include breakfast reservation by e-mail: biuro@dom-muzyka.pl phone: (+48 58) 326 06 00 fax: (+48 58) 326 06 01 please mention "planetary nebulae" when booking more information at http://www.dom-muzyka.pl/ (English version should be available in May) 2) Students' hostel 10 single rooms @ 130 PLN including breaakfast 25 double rooms @ 190 PLN including breaakfast Reservations as for 1) 3) Hotel Krolewski Ul. Olowianka 1 80-751 Gdansk 5 single rooms @ 260 PLN 15 double rooms @ 310 PLN (290 PLN for single use) 4 double plus rooms @ 350 PLN (330 PLN for single use) 4 captains rooms @ 450 PLN 2 admiral rooms @ 570 PLN children 6-12: 50% children under 5: free reservation through internet at http://www.hotelkrolewski.pl indicating "planetary nebulae" in the "additional information" window * PASSPORT AND VISA Nationals from countries of the European Community only need a valid document certifying their identity and citizenship. We strongly recommend nationals from countries not belonging to the European Community to check with the Polish embassies (http://www.goabroad.com/embassy/embassy.cfm?embassy=abroad&countryID=70) on the passport and visa requirements to enter in Poland If you need a letter of invitation to obtain a visa, please contact Barbara Gertner (basia@ncac.torun.pl) * TRANSPORTATION Gdansk is easily reachable by plane through the Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport http://www.airport.gdansk.pl/newserv/ which has regular connections with Warsaw, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Munich, and Hamburg. Another possibility is to take a plane to the Warsaw F. Chopin Airport http://www.lotnisko-chopina.pl/?lang=en (which is directly connected to many more cities in the world) and then either a plane or a train to Gdansk. The train station in Warsaw can be reached in 20 min by taxi from the airport. The trip by train to Gdansk takes about 4 hours. Those who consider flying to the Gdansk should keep in mind that currently only 4 companies operate between some European cities and Gdansk. They are: Polish LOT airlines (LO) from Warsaw, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich German Lufthansa (LH) from German cities Scandinavian SAS airlines (SK) from Copenhagen and a cheap Wizzair airlines (W or WZZ) from London, Dortmund see details on http://www.airport.gdansk.pl/newserv/en/strgl.php clicking Passenger Information - Schedule. We recommend you to make your plane reservations as soon as possible. * CAR RENTAL During the conference, there is no need to have a car. However, if you consider extending yur stay and renting a car, it is preferable to do this with well-known international companies present at the airoprts. * PREPARE YOUR TRIP TO POLAND Interesting information about Poland (history, geagraphy, tourism) can be found at http://www.poland.gov.pl. More specific information about Gdansk and surroundings can be faund at http://guide.trojmiasto.pl/, http://www.gdansk.pl/en/, http://www.gdansk.pl/en/article.php?category=454&article=993&history= * POLISH YOUR POLISH http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/quickfix/polish.shtml and for those who really care: http://polish.slavic.pitt.edu/firstyear/ * INFORMATION UPDATES If needed, updates to this second announcement will be published on our website http://www.ncac.torun.pl/~pngdansk/ * THIRD ANNOUNCEMENT We plan to issue a third and last announcement in early June. -- ______________________________________________________________________________ Conference on Planetary Nebulae as Astronomical Tools Gdansk (Poland) 28 June-2 July 2005 mail: pngdansk@ncac.torun.pl http://www.ncac.torun.pl/~pngdansk