1. General Information
The International Space Science Institute (ISSI) is hosting a workshop on "A Comparative Study of the Outer Planets before the Exploration of Saturn by Cassini-Huygens." The attendance at this workshop is by invitation only. About 30 participants have been approached earlier with a letter of invitation; a large number have given a positive reply. The aim of this homepage is to give easy access to the information on the workshop programme, organisation and logistics, and to keep this information updated. Please consult our homepage http://www.issi.unibe.ch/ for some general information about ISSI.
2. Workshop Topic
The workshop on ‘A Comparative Study of the Outer Planets before the Exploration of Saturn by Cassini-Huygens' is intended to provide an interdisciplinary forum to review the knowledge on four major themes: 1) the study of the formation and evolution processes of the outer planets and their satellites, beginning with the formation of compounds and planetesimals in the solar nebula, and the subsequent evolution of the interiors of the outer planets, 2) a comparative study of the atmospheres of the outer planets and Titan, 3) the study of the planetary magnetospheres and their interactions with the solar wind, and 4) the formation and properties of satellites and rings including their interiors, surfaces, and their interaction with the solar wind and the magnetospheres of the outer planets. Beyond these topics, the implications for the prebiotic chemical evolution on Europa and Titan will be discussed.
The following key questions will be addressed at the workshop: What will we explore on Saturn and Titan with the Cassini-Huygens mission during the years 2004 to 2008 and what do we expect to find? Which co-ordinated ground-based observations should be made to complement and extend the observations made by the Cassini-Huygens fly-by at Saturn by studying the other giant planets? What is recommended for future large observatories like ALMA and CELT? What are the concepts of future space missions, orbiters or probes exploring the outer planets?
3. Funding of the workshop
No registration fee is required. ISSI will fund the participants by providing the daily subsistence cost for the time of the meeting up to a maximum of 7 days. This includes the cost for the hotel and for meals. We regret that we cannot cover your expenses to travel to and from Bern.
4. Equipment available at ISSI
ISSI is equipped with a pool of different kinds of workstations, such as DOS/Windows PCs, MacIntosh PowerPCs, and Sun SparcStations, as well as with Postscript printers for both b/w and colour. All machines have ethernet connections and run telnet, ftp, netscape etc., so connecting to your home machine, accessing email, printing, etc. while at ISSI is no problem. If participants plan to bring their notebook computers with ethernet or modem connection, they should contact ISSI beforehand (saliba@issi.unibe.ch, Tel: +41 31 631 3251), informing us exactly what they need, so ethernet addresses can be reserved and the right connectors can be made available.
In the seminar room there are two overhead projectors, a slide projector, a whiteboard, a video projector, and an on-line screen projector connecting to a computer's monitor port. There are three working group rooms equipped with an overhead projector and a whiteboard.
A fax machine and two photocopiers are available in house.
5. Social Programme
An informal welcome drink will be offered at the end of the first day at ISSI, on Monday, 12 January 2004, at 5:00 pm.
A free afternoon is planned for Wednesday, 14 January, on which we will take an excursion to Kandersteg and the Oeschinensee in the Bernese Alps. A workshop dinner will be offered to all participants in the Ruedihus, Kandersteg. Alternatively, participants may skip the excursion and go for sightseeing in or around Bern on their own.