228th AAS Meeting Registration and Abstract Deadlines Coming Up!

Join your colleagues from across the country for the 228th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego, California, 12–16 June 2016, held in conjunction with the Laboratory Astrophysics Division (LAD). This meeting is filled to the brim with amazing speakers, sessions, and events including:

• "Observation of Gravitational Waves" in a Kavli Foundation Lecture from Gabriela González (LSU)
• "From Space Archeology to Serving the World Today" with Dan Irwin (NASA)
• “The Brightest Pulses in the Universe” with Maura McLaughlin (West Virginia University)
• “The Galaxy Zoo” with Kevin Schawinski (ETH Zurich)
• "APOGEE: The New View of the Milky Way — Large Scale Galactic Structure" with Jo Bovy (University of Toronto)
• "The Ocean World Enceladus" with Linda Spilker (JPL)
• “MAVEN Observations of Atmospheric Loss at Mars” with Shannon Curry (UC Berkeley)
• "The Elephant in the Room: Effects of Distant, Massive Companions on Planetary System Architectures" with 2015 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize winner Heather Knutson (Caltech)
• "From the First Stars and Galaxies to the Epoch of Reionization: 20 Years of Computational Progress" with Michael Norman (UC San Diego)
• "Things That Go Bump in the Night: The Transient Radio Sky" with Dale Frail (NRAO)

Special sessions will include The Polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background: Current Status and Future Prospects concentrating on recent results and projections for upcoming instruments, and the NASA K2 Mission highlighting science from the mission's first two years of operation. Plus, there will be Meetings-in-a-Meeting on the Limits of Scientific Cosmology and on Small Telescope Research Communities of Practice. The summer meeting will also include town halls with NASA and NSF, and Jacqueline Hewitt (MIT) will present the final report of the astronomy mid-decadal survey committee.

The Annual Members Meeting, your opportunity to raise and comment on issues of concern to you and the astronomical community, will be held on Wednesday, 15 June. This is also your chance to propose candidates for the Nominating Committee, which in turn selects candidates for election as AAS officers or councilors. There will be one vacancy to be filled, so please think about a colleague whose experience and judgement you value and, after obtaining his or her consent, come to the Annual Members Meeting prepared to put that colleague's name forward.

Register by 14 April to save over late or onsite rates, and submit your abstract by 19 April to be a part of this stellar schedule of events. Don't forget that for this meeting, abstracts submitted through the final deadline can be for either posters or oral presentations (as opposed to only posters like other meetings). Once you've registered for the meeting, make sure you reserve your room at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront by 6 May to ensure the group rate.

The 228th meeting of the AAS will be held in lively downtown San Diego. Located only minutes from the airport, San Diego's thriving downtown districts offer a plethora of options for activities, dining, and cultural attractions, all accessible by foot or by trolley. Modern and historic buildings stand side-by-side in the historic downtown Gaslamp District, which boasts shops and boutiques, trendy nightclubs, rooftop bars, and fine dining restaurants. The AAS, working with local venues, will provide discounts and giveaways to many downtown restaurants and attractions. Take a look at our San Diego Featured Local Hot Spots for more information.

See you there!

Thank you to the current sponsors of the 228th meeting of the AAS: SBIG Instruments, Associated Universities, Inc., Astro Haven Enterprises, Ball Aerospace, Spectral Instruments, Oceanside Photo & Telescope, Andor Technology, and the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).