245th meeting

Press Information

245
National Harbor, MD
245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society
National Harbor, MD
12 – 16 January 2025
Links

6 January 2025 (Materials updated 22 January)

Contact:
Dr. Susanna Kohler
AAS Press Officer
+1 202-328-2010 x127

Dr. Kerry Hensley
AAS Deputy Press Officer
+1 202-328-2010 x138

Astronomers, educators, students, and journalists will gather in National Harbor, Maryland, from 12 to 16 January 2025 for the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). This joint conference with the AAS High Energy Astrophysics and Historical Astronomy Divisions will feature a variety of scientific presentations, workshops, town halls, and more. Of particular interest to reporters, the AAS Press Office will also host eight press conferences on the latest discoveries in astronomy, planetary sciences, space sciences, and more, as well as a seminar for science writers to prepare for first light for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. There will also be a Press Meet & Greet event at the beginning of the week. Meeting hashtag: #aas245. 

The venue for this winter's AAS meeting is the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center (201 Waterfront St, National Harbor, MD 20745). The AAS offers complimentary press registration for the meeting to bona fide working journalists and public-information officers (PIOs), as explained below.

Meeting links:

Important Preliminaries

All attendees at the meeting — including press registrants — are expected to follow our Guide to AAS Meeting Etiquette, Anti-Harassment Policy for AAS & Division Meetings & Activities, and Code of Ethics. In addition, attendees agree to our Event Photography/Videography Policy. Please read these guidelines/policies before you come to the meeting; your participation in the meeting is taken to signify your acknowledgment that you have read them and you agree to adhere to them.

Press Registration

The AAS offers complimentary press registration to bona fide working journalists and PIOs who meet the eligibility criteria, as described on the AAS press website.

There will be two options available to press registrants at AAS 245:

  1. In-Person Press – Full Meeting Registration
    This option provides admittance to all in-person meeting events, sessions, and spaces, and it includes access to all virtual content. We ask that you only select the full registration if you do intend to go to National Harbor, so that we can obtain an approximate on-site head count in advance.
  2. Virtual Press Registration
    This option provides online access to limited meeting content, which will include press conferences, live-streamed plenary talks, the NASA and NSF town halls, and a virtual-only oral session; the iPoster gallery; and the AAS 245 Slack workspace. Content excluded: in-person receptions, workshops, town halls (except for NASA and NSF), and all oral sessions (except for the virtual-only oral session).

To request press registration, first check our eligibility criteria, then contact the AAS Press Office with your name and media affiliation (or “freelance” if applicable); please specify "AAS 245 IN-PERSON press registration" or "AAS 245 VIRTUAL press registration" in the subject line. If your eligibility is confirmed, you'll receive a special promotional code that you can use to register for the meeting the same way regular attendees do, i.e., via the AAS 245 registration page.

Press registration deadline: Wednesday, 8 January 2024. 

See our list of current press registrants.

Press Facilities

The AAS will operate a press office in Maryland Ballroom 4 in the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, with working space, printer/photocopier, power strips, and internet connectivity for reporters and PIOs.

Press office staff:

AAS 245 Astrobites Media Intern Lindsey Gordon will also assist in the press office.

A dedicated press interview space, Maryland Ballroom 3, will be available Monday through Thursday for use by press registrants; use the online signup sheet here to reserve this room for use at specific dates and times. 

Press Meet & Greet

There will be an informal Press Meet & Greet event on Monday, 13 January at 12:45 pm EST at the press office, Maryland Ballroom 4. We encourage press registrants to stop by for coffee and light snacks, say hello to known colleagues and friends, and network with new ones!

Roman Telescope Tour

There will be no dedicated press tour at AAS 245, but members of the media are invited to register for a general tour for meeting attendees hosted by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on Monday, 13 January, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. This is an opportunity to connect with NASA scientists and engineers, explore the latest developments in space research, and observe the integration of the Roman Space Telescope. Registration for the tour is available on a first-come, first-served basis; learn more and sign up here.

Press Conference Schedule, Topics & Speakers

News briefings will be held each morning and afternoon, Monday, 13 January, through Thursday, 16 January, in Maryland Ballroom 5/6 of the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. The press conference room will be equipped with a sound system and internet connectivity. Note that morning and afternoon briefings occur in parallel with morning and afternoon oral science sessions. 

Following is the press-conference program, which remains subject to change (all times are EST = UTC − 5 hours):

Briefing audio, slides, and video will be available via a Zoom webinar, where registered journalists will be able to ask live questions of the presenters via a text Q&A feature. The briefings will also be livestreamed to the AAS Press Office YouTube channel, where attendees will be able to view the stream but not ask questions. (See below.)

In [square brackets] under the speakers’ names are the abstract or session numbers on which their presentations are based. Next to the session number, the designation IP or V indicates whether the speaker will be presenting their press briefing in person or virtually, respectively.

All findings are embargoed until the time of presentation at the meeting. “Time of presentation” means the start time of the oral or poster session in which the paper will be given, or the start time of the corresponding press conference (if any), whichever comes first. See the complete AAS embargo policy for more information.

Note: All new discoveries are subject to confirmation by independent teams of scientists. Inclusion here does not imply endorsement by the American Astronomical Society. The AAS does not endorse individual scientific results.

Monday, 13 January 2025, 10:15 am EST
A Feast of Feasting Black Holes (Briefing video)

Witnessing the Birth of a New Plasma Jet from a Supermassive Black Hole
Eileen Meyer (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
[457.02] | IP | Press release

Rapidly Evolving X-Ray Oscillations in the Active Galaxy 1ES 1927+654
Megan Masterson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
[239.06] | IP | Press release

Uncovering the Dining Habits of Supermassive Black Holes in Our Cosmic Backyard with NuLANDS
Peter Boorman (California Institute of Technology)
[411.10] | IP | Press release

The Discovery of a Newborn Quasar Jet Triggered by a Cosmic Dance
Olivia Achenbach (United States Naval Academy)
[106.02] | IP | Press release

Monday, 13 January 2025, 2:15 pm EST
Supernovae and Massive Stars (Briefing video)

JWST Discovery of a Distant Supernova Linked to a Massive Progenitor in the Early Universe
David Coulter (Space Telescope Science Institute)
[458.05] | IP | Press release (PDF)

Core-Collapse Supernovae as Key Dust Producers: New Insights from JWST
Melissa Shahbandeh (Space Telescope Science Institute)
[458.06] | IP | Press release (PDF)

JWST Tracks the Expanding Dusty Fingerprints of a Massive Binary
Emma Lieb (University of Denver)
[163.10] | IP | Press release

Stellar Pyrotechnics on Display in Super Star Cluster
Kristina Monsch (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian)
[462.02] | IP | Press release

A Blue Lurker Emerges from a Triple-System Merger
Emily Leiner (Illinois Institute of Technology)
[342.01] | IP | Press release

Tuesday, 14 January 2025, 10:15 am EST
Black Holes & New Outcomes from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Briefing video)

A Variable X-Ray Monster at the Epoch of Reionization
Lea Marcotulli (Yale University)
[139.06] | IP | Press release

JWST's Little Red Dots and the Rise of Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei in the Early Universe
Dale Kocevski (Colby College)
[139.07] | IP | Press release

Revealing the Mid-Infrared Properties of the Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole
Joseph Michail (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian)
[346.05] | IP | Press release

Black Hole Archaeology: Mapping the Growth History of Black Holes Across Cosmic Time
Logan Fries (University of Connecticut)
[126.01D] | IP | Press release

The SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper: Early Data and Science
Dhanesh Krishnarao (Colorado College)
[202.33] | IP | Press release

Tuesday, 14 January 2025, 2:15 pm EST
New Information from Milky Way Highlights (Briefing video)

Infrared Echoes of Cassiopeia A Reveal the Dynamic Interstellar Medium
Jacob Jencson (California Institute of Technology/IPAC)
[174.07] | IP | Press release

A Path-Breaking Observation of the Cold Neutral Medium of the Milky Way Through Thermal Light Echoes
Joshua Peek (Space Telescope Science Institute)
[174.08] | IP | Press release

Imaging an Astronomical Icon in 3D: A New View of the Ring Nebula
Joel Kastner (RIT Center for Imaging Science)
[322.08] | IP | Press release

X-Ray Echoes from Sgr A* Provide Insight on the 3D Structure of Molecular Clouds in the Galactic Center
Danya Alboslani (University of Connecticut)
[110.04] | IP | Press release

Wednesday, 15 January 2025, 10:15 am EST
Discovering the Universe Beyond Our Galaxy (Briefing video)

Introduction: 100 Years Since Hubble Discovered the Universe Beyond Our Galaxy
Jeff Rich (Carnegie Science Observatories)
IP | STScI Press release

The Hubble Tension in Our Own Backyard
Daniel Scolnic (Duke University)
[121.03] | IP | Press release

JWST Reveals the Early Universe in Our Backyard
Nolan Habel (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
[122.08] | IP

Growing in the Wind: Watching a Galaxy Seed Its Environment
David Rupke (Rhodes College)
[405.02] | IP

Three Quenched, Faint Dwarf Galaxies: New Probes of Reionization and Stellar Feedback
David Sand (University of Arizona)
[365.02] | IP | Press release

Wednesday, 15 January 2025, 2:15 pm EST
New Findings About Stars Near and Far (Briefing video)

A Predicted Great Dimming of T Tauri: Has It Begun?
Tracy Beck (Space Telescope Science Institute)
[254.06] | IP | More information

A Super Star Cluster Is Born: JWST Reveals Dust and Ice in a Stellar Nursery
Omnarayani Nayak (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
[142.04] | IP | Press release

The Discovery of Ancient Relics in a Distant Evolved Galaxy
Katherine Whitaker (University of Massachusetts Amherst)
[445.01] | V

Exploring the Sun's Active Regions in the Moments Before Flares
Emily Mason (Predictive Science Inc.)
[478.03] | V

Thursday, 16 January 2025, 10:15 am EST
Exoplanets: From Formation to Disintegration (Briefing video)

An ALMA Survey of Circumstellar Disks in Young Binaries
Taylor Kutra (Lowell Observatory)
[268.04] | IP | Press release

A New NASA Mission to Characterize Exoplanets and Their Host Stars
Ben Hord (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
[460.02] | IP | Press release

X-Rays in the Prime of Life: Irradiating Vulnerable Planets
Scott Wolk (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)
[404.07] | IP | Press release

Bright Star, Fading World: Dusty Debris of a Dying Planet
Marc Hon (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
[334.02] | IP | Press release (PDF)

JWST Exposes Hot Rock Entrails from a Planet's Demise
Nick Tusay (Penn State University)
[215.05] | IP | Press release (PDF)

Thursday, 16 January 2025, 12:45 pm EST
Seminar for Science Writers
Bringing the Night Sky to Life: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Will Revolutionize the Way We Explore the Cosmos (Briefing video)

Materials: Session slides | Rubin media resources webpage | Rubin media kit (PDF)

Rubin 101 — Basics of Rubin Observatory
Sandrine Thomas (Rubin Observatory)
IP

A Treasure Trove of Discoveries on the Horizon
Leanne Guy (Rubin Observatory)
IP

Challenging Data Frontiers
Yusra AlSayyad (Rubin Observatory)
IP

A Global Vision for Cosmic Access
Beth Willman (LSST Discovery Alliance)
IP

Resources for Bringing Rubin to Life
Stephanie Deppe (Rubin Observatory)
IP

Thursday, 16 January 2025, 2:15 pm EST
Galactic Histories and Policy Futures (Briefing video)

A Dwarf Galaxy's Stellar Halo Built by Accretion
Catherine Fielder (University of Arizona)
[431.02] | IP | Press release

The Boundary of Galaxy Formation: Constraints from the Ancient Star Formation of the Isolated, Extremely Low-Mass Galaxy Leo P
Kristen McQuinn (Space Telescope Science Institute and Rutgers University))
[368.01] | IP | Rutgers press release | STScI press release

Resolving 90 Million Stars in the Southern Half of Andromeda
Zhuo Chen (University of Washington)
[150.01] | IP | STScI press release | NASA Goddard press release

Recent Space Policy Statements Regarding Our Dark and Quiet Skies
John Barentine (Dark Sky Consulting)
V | AAS Policy Statements

Press Conference Livestreams

Journalists (and anyone else) unable to attend the meeting in person may tune in to our livestreamed briefings via one of two methods:

  1. Meeting registrants may access the livestreams via Zoom webinar links that will be sent out to registered journalists in advance of the meeting. Viewers who join the livestreams via these links will be able to ask questions via a Q&A chat box.
  2. Non-registrants may access the livestreams via the AAS Press Office YouTube channel. Viewers here will not be able to ask questions.

After the meeting, archived webcasts will be freely available via our online archive, which links to the individual briefing videos on the AAS Press Office YouTube channel.

Additional Program Highlights

Please see the 1st Media Advisory for a list of additional program highlights at AAS 245 that may be of interest to journalists. 

For additional information, visit the AAS 245 Block Schedule, which can be filtered by session type to identify specific events of interest like Plenaries, Town Halls, or Attendee Events. 

AAS on Twitter/X

During the meeting, the AAS Press Office will post announcements of interest to reporters on Twitter/X at @AAS_Press. Other AAS Twitter/X handles include @AAS_Office, @AAS_Policy, @AAS_Publishing, and @AASNova. Journalists (and scientists) tweeting from the meeting are encouraged to use the hashtag #aas245.

A Note on Visas and Travel Restrictions to the United States

If you are an international traveler, you are responsible for determining any current travel restrictions and visa requirements that apply to you. Additional information is available from the US State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you need a letter for a visa application certifying that you are registered for the meeting, please request your complimentary press registration as soon as possible; only after you complete it can the AAS Press Office send you such a letter.

AAS Press List

If you don't already receive press releases by email from the AAS Press Office, you should sign up now to guarantee that you receive future meeting advisories as well as other important announcements. To sign up for the AAS Press List at no charge, please fill out and submit the form you'll find linked from our Join the AAS Press List page. With few exceptions, only accredited journalists and PIOs are eligible to receive press releases from the AAS, as described on our press-credentials page.

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