3 September 2020

Contacts:
Dr. Shantanu Naidu
DPS Press Officer
+1 917-373-8840 (cell)

Dr. Rick Fienberg
AAS Press Officer
+1 202-328-2010 x116, cell: +1 857-891-5649

The 52nd annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) will be held virtually Monday, 26 October, through Friday, 30 October 2020. The meeting will feature a rich science program including live plenary lectures and panel discussions via Zoom, prerecorded oral presentations via video, digital interactive iPosters on the Web, and Q&A/discussions with presenters and fellow attendees via Slack.

Science highlights will include recent findings on interstellar objects and active small bodies, the latest results on asteroids from OSIRIS-REx at Bennu and Hayabusa2 at Ryugu, and new insights about Venus-size exoplanets in our galactic backyard. There will also be a NASA Town Hall as well as several presentations and discussions concerning the National Academies’ upcoming Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, which will chart a course for research in these fields during the period 2023 to 2032.

The AAS/DPS offers complimentary press registration to bona fide working journalists and public-information officers (PIOs); see details below. We expect to hold daily press conferences via Zoom Monday-Thursday, 26-29 October, to showcase some of the most exciting discoveries being presented at the meeting. These will occur at midday Eastern Daylight Time, i.e., early morning on the US West Coast and late afternoon in Europe. They’ll also be live-streamed on the AAS Press Office YouTube channel — where you will not be able to ask questions; to do that, you will need to participate via Zoom — and archived there afterward. The briefing schedule, topics, and speakers will be announced in a subsequent media advisory.

Press Registration

To request complimentary press registration, first check our eligibility criteria, then send an email message to either of the contacts listed above with your name and media affiliation (or “freelance” if applicable). Upon confirming your eligibility, they’ll email you a special promotional code that you can use to register for the meeting the same way regular attendees do, i.e., via the DPS 52 registration page.

Once you’ve received your promo code, go to the DPS 52 registration page and click the orange “Register for 52nd DPS Meeting” button. That will take you to the registration site, where you can sign in if you already have AAS credentials, which is likely if you’ve attended a recent AAS or DPS meeting. If you’re not sure, or if you’ve forgotten your AAS credentials, click the “Forgot username?” or “Forgot password?” link and follow the instructions that pop up, or email [email protected] for assistance. Otherwise you can create a new account.

After you sign in, click the “Register Myself” link if you’re not already on the registration page; then you can complete the registration process. You may see several options at different prices; it doesn’t matter which one you choose, because when you get to the payment screen, enter your promotional code, and click the “Apply” button, the system will recognize you as a press registrant and zero out the fee. If you encounter any problems during registration, email [email protected] or either of the contacts below.

Please register as soon as possible. There’s no hard deadline, but if you wait till the last minute, we may not be able to process your registration in time for you to attend that day’s sessions or press conference.

The meeting hashtag is #DPS2020; you may also wish to follow @DPSMeeting and @AAS_Press on Twitter.

As we continue to persevere through the COVID-19 pandemic, all of us at the AAS and DPS hope that you and your family, friends, and colleagues are able to remain safe and healthy.

AAS Press-Release-Distribution Service

If you don't already receive astronomy-related press releases forwarded by email from the AAS Press Office, you should sign up now to guarantee that you receive future meeting advisories as well as electronic copies of all press releases issued during the meeting. To sign up for the AAS press-release-distribution service, for which there is 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 forwarded by the AAS, as described on that page.