News

Thank you to all who helped make SN2016 a success! **Download the summary report.**

19 July 2016:
Dear Participants,
The dates of the SN2016 conference on Easter Island are approaching quickly. Below you can find a lot of important information concerning the conference and your travel, so please keep reading.

Please review and update the details of your registration at the link that you received in email when signing up. If you can’t find your link, you can request a reminder on our webpage (http://sn2016.cl/registration/, next to the Signup button).

Conference program
You can find the program on our website (http://sn2016.cl/program/), note that there still might be changes. Poster presenters will have the opportunity to give a 1 minute / 1 slide talk. The maximum allowed size of the posters is A0 portrait.

In the morning of 9th August, Tuesday we start with a cultural session in the conference room in Hotel Hanga Roa, where local researchers will talk about the history and culture of the island.

Registration desk
The registration desk will be open from 6 PM, 8th August Monday, at Hotel Hanga Roa.

Social events

• 8th August, Monday – Star Wine (wine tasting and live music), organized by Imagen de Chile
• 9th August, Tuesday – Welcome cocktail
• 11th August, Thursday – Conference dinner

The Star Wine event is free for all participants and accompanying people.

The welcome reception and the conference dinner are included in the registration fee for participants, and cost $35 and $100 for accompanying people, respectively, which you can pay at the registration desk in cash.

All events will take place at Hotel Hanga Roa.

Outreach events
During the conference, we’re organizing several events for the general public of Easter Island, in collaboration with the local museum. You are most welcome to attend the public talks. If you understand Spanish and would like to assist us during these events, please contact us.

• 8th August, Monday – public talks at the 4 local schools
• 10th August, Wednesday – public talk by Brian Schmidt (7:30 PM, Lorenzo Baeza school, in English)
• 12th August, Friday – public talk by Mario Hamuy (7:30 PM, Lorenzo Baeza school, in Spanish)
• 12th August, Friday, evening – Star party (9 PM, Ahu Tahai)
• 14th August, Sunday – hands-on activities at the museum for 8+ year olds (10 AM – 1 PM)

Social media
You can find our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/supernovae2016. You can follow us on twitter at https://twitter.com/supernovae2016. When posting about the conference please use the hashtag #sn2016conference.

Internet access
Be prepared that the internet on the island is slow and unreliable.

Entrance fee to the national park
If you plan to visit the island’s national park, you can buy the ticket at the airport upon arrival or at the CONAF office (Mon to Sun from 9 until 16 hrs). The price of the ticket is USD 60 for adults, USD 10 for children under 12 and it’s valid for 5 days. (See https://www.easterisland.travel/easter-island-facts-and-info/faq/#what-is-ticket )

Switch to summer time
The time zone of Easter Island is EAST (Easter Island Standard Time), GMT-6.

Chile is going to switch to summer time at midnight on 13th August, Saturday, when we set the time one hour forward (from midnight to 1am on Sunday, or from GMT-6 to GMT-5).

Tours
Archaeological Travel Service is a specialized travel agency founded on Easter Island in 1975 and owned by a group of scientists and cultural tourism specialists with more than three decades of experience in the South Pacific.

They will be offering excursions to all major sites of the island during the conference. If you’re interested or have any questions please feel free to contact them at info@archaeo.cl.

Customs
You need to declare all products of plant or animal origin when entering Chile. You can find more information about what is allowed here (in English): http://chile.gob.cl/en/consulados/tramites/para-extranjeros/tramites-aduaneros-sag/.

Weather
The weather on Easter Island in August is mild, with temperatures around 15-20°C (60-68°F) and with possible rainfall.

What to bring
Mosquito spray (see http://sn2016.cl/travel/); hat for the sun; sunglasses; sunscreen; light waterproof rain jacket, poncho or collapsible umbrella; comfortable walking shoes with rubber soles, since most people find tennis shoes or sneakers suitable (bring two pairs); bathing suit.

Electricity supply
220V, European style outlet

Currency
The local currency is the Chilean peso (CLP), 1 USD = 650-680 CLP

Tipping
10% tip is customary in restaurants.

31 JANUARY 2016:
Edmundo R. Edwards, archaeologist, astronomer and ethnologist, who is going to give a talk about Easter Island during the conference has recently won the Explorers Club Citation of Merit 2016.

23 NOVEMBER 2015: Dear Colleagues,
To celebrate the careers of Mark Phillips and Nicholas Suntzeff, the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics — MAS — has the pleasure to make the 2nd announcement of the conference:

“Supernovae through the ages: understanding the past to prepare for the future”

website: www.sn2016.cl
venue: Easter Island, Chile, August 9-13, 2016

The registration and abstract submission are now open, the deadline is March 31st, 2016. Late registration will be possible after this date. The early registration fee is 350 USD, while the late registration fee will be 400 USD. The registration fee includes coffee breaks as well as the welcome reception and the conference dinner.

We have some funds available for PhD students and postdocs. You can find the details about how to apply on the conference website.

—Travel and accommodation—
A list of recommended hotels is available in the website. Attendees must make their own reservations directly with the hotels. Note that affordable options (‘cabañas’) are available. For more information please check the accommodation page in the conference website.

Although the conference will occur during the low travel season, tickets from Santiago to Easter Island can get expensive as the travel date approaches. We encourage you to make your reservations as soon as possible.

—Childcare—
The LOC is acting as an intermediary with local nurseries that can provide babysitting service in the hotel room during the talks. Interested attendees must fill out the corresponding section in the registration form.

—Scientific topics—

• Past/current/future discovery and follow-up surveys
• Supernova science in the era of big data
• Supernova discovery and follow-up within hours of explosion
• Supernova cosmology
• Supernova hosts/environments and rates
• Supernova explosion models, progenitors, and their link to stellar evolution models
• Extreme/peculiar events
• The first supernovae

—Preliminary Invited Speakers List—
M. Bersten (IALP CONICET-UNLP)
S. Blondin (LAM)
T. Davis (University of Queensland)
F. Forster (CMM/MAS)
M. Fraser (Cambridge)
A. Frebel (MIT)
A. Heger (Monash University)
K. Maeda (Kyoto University)
D. Maoz (Tel-Aviv University)
R. Margutti (NYU)
G. Narayan (NOAO)
A. Piro (Carnegie Observatories)
A. Rest (STScI)
B. Shappee (Carnegie Observatories)
N. Smith (University of Arizona)

—Committees—

Local Organizing Committee:
M. Hamuy (Chair, U. Chile/MAS)
J. P. Anderson (ESO Chile)
N. Atencio (MAS)
F. Förster (CMM/MAS)
L. Galbany (U. Chile/MAS)
D. Gómez (MAS)
K. Takáts (U. Andrés Bello/MAS)

Scientific Organizing Committee:
J. L. Prieto (Chair, U. Diego Portales/MAS)
J. P. Anderson (ESO Chile)
A. Clocchiatti (PUC/MAS)
I. Domínguez (U. Granada)
N. Elias-Rosa (INAF-OAPd)
I. Hook (U. Lancaster)
M. Kasliwal (Caltech)
E. Levesque (UW)
M. M. Phillips (LCO)
B. Schmidt (ANU)
K. Shen (Berkeley)
C. Stubbs (Harvard)
N. Suntzeff (Texas A&M)
M. Tanaka (NAOJ)

—Sponsors—
– Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS)
– Millennium Science Initiative (ICM)
– Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT)
– National Science Foundation (NSF)
– Carnegie Institution for Science
– Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation (Texas A&M University)
– Comité Mixto ESO/Chile
– European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Best regards
The LOC

23 OCTOBER 2015: The early registration and abstract submission deadline are both 31 March 2016. Register now!

The early registration fee is 350 USD. The late registration fee will be 400 USD starting 1 April 2016.

Abstracts must be sent separately from registration using the Abstract submission page.

22 JULY 2015: To celebrate the careers of Mark Phillips and Nicholas Suntzeff, the Millennium Institute for Astrophysics — MAS — has the pleasure to make the 1st announcement of the conference:

“Supernovae through the ages: understanding the past to prepare for the future”

website: www.sn2016.cl
venue: Easter Island, Chile, 9-13 August 2016

The registration and abstract submission deadline will be informed on the website and in the 2nd announcement.

Best regards,
The LOC