SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT Dear Colleague, please distribute among interested persons. We apologize if you receive this e-mail more than once. ******************************************************************** * This is the second announcement for the conference: * * * * A Long Walk Through Astronomy * * A celebration of the scientific contribution of Luis Carrasco * * on his 60th Birthday * * * * * * to be held in Huatulco, Mexico on October 15 - 17, 2008. * ******************************************************************** In this announcement you will find an updated list of key speakers and information about the venue. The scientific program and cultural activities during the conference will shortly be posted in our Web site: http://www.inaoep.mx/~huatulco08/ Please register at the above web site if you haven't done so. Note that the deadline for registration has been extended to the 15th of August. MAIN TOPICS OF THE CONFERENCE * Infrared and optical studies of galactic star-forming regions: Dark clouds, Young Stellar Objects, Variability in Massive stars, Runaway stars, Young Clusters * Dynamics and stellar populations in galaxies: Angular Momentum of disks, Scaling relationships, Star formation in cluster galaxies, Star formation histories of galaxies * M82 - a Local Laboratory for Starburst Phenomenon: Nuclear starbursts, Superstar clusters, Halo emission, ULIRGs * Photometric and Spectroscopic Variability of AGNs: BL Lac object OJ287, SED and bolometric luminosity of galaxies, Variability in the NIR * Astronomical Instrumentation: Present and future spectrographs in the infrared. Future Facilities LIST OF KEY SPEAKERS Luis Aguilar (IA-UNAM, Mexico) Alessandro Bressan (*) (OAPD-INAF, Italy) Leonardo Bronfman (*) (DAS, UChile, Chile) Alberto Buzzoni (INAF-OB, Italy) Alain Chelli (*) (Obs. Grenoble, France) George Djorgovski (Caltech, USA) Francesco Ferraro (DA-Univ. Bologna, Italy) Jose Franco (IA-UNAM, Mexico) Giuseppe Gavazzi (UMilano-Bicocca, Italy) Jesus J. Gonzalez (IA-UNAM, Mexico) Mark Heyer (UMass, USA) William Irvine (UMass, USA) Susana Lizano (CRyA-UNAM, Mexico) Matthew Malkan (UCLA, USA) Jorge Melnick (ESO, Germany) Arcadio Poveda (IA-UNAM, Mexico) Alfonso Serrano (INAOE-Mexico) Laura Silva (INAF-OAT, Italy) Peter Schloerb (UMass, USA) Stephen Strom (NOAO, USA) REGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION FEE: We have incorporated a link in the website where you can register and confirm your registration. Those who pre-registered will be able to update their information by including their electronic mails. Should you find any problem please contact us at huatulco08@inaoep.mx. The registration fee for this conference is US$250.00. The registration fee includes * A copy of the conference proceedings (to be published by Revista Mexicana de Astronomia y Astrofisica Conference Series) * Welcome cocktail on the evening of October 14th * Morning and afternoon coffee breaks, Wednesday to Friday The fees should be paid to the LOC at the registration desk in cash (Mexican pesos, US dollars or Euros). ABSTRACTS: The registration form contains space for including abstracts of your contribution, which can be in simple text. A book containing all the abstracts will be given to all the participants at the beginning of the conference. The deadline for receiving abstracts is August 15th 2008. CONFERENCE LOCATION AND HOTEL: Barceló Huatulco Beach The conference will be held at the Barceló Huatulco Beach Hotel. This hotel is an all-inclusive five star category with private beach and wide tourist facilities. Standard rooms in this hotel have the following special rates (in Mexican pesos/night): Single Occupation: 1386.00 pesos/person ~ (132 USD, 86 Euro) Double Occupation: 990.00 pesos/person ~ (94 USD, 61 Euro) Triple Occupation: 693 pesos/person ~ (66 USD, 43 Euro) Kids (7-12 yearold) 396 pesos/person ~ (37 USD, 24 Euro) (prices in US Dollars and Euros are, respectively, considering an exchange rate of 10.5 pesos/USD and 16.0 pesos/Euro) These prices include: * Breakfast (buffet), Lunch (buffet) and Dinner (buffet) * Snacks as well as National drinks and beverages (from about 11:00am to 02:00am) * Recreation and sports services at the beach and the swimming pool, (gymnasium, tennis courts and equipment, night shows, etc) * A wide variety of amenities for kids * Tips and Taxes The special prices will also be applicable for a few days before and after the conference dates. Please note that the hotel reservations must be done by using the link (Hotel Information) at the conference website. Please DO NOT FORGET to write the discount code INAOEP when booking your room. This code will make the special rates applicable to your reservation. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES: Huatulco offers a wide ranging outdoor activities. Information on these activities and visits to local sites of interest will be posted on the web page. Ample time will be provided to enjoy the natural beauty of the place. The conference dinner will be on Thursday night. Please visit the conference page for updates on these topics. HOW TO REACH HUATULCO: Huatulco is connected by direct flights with most major cities in Mexico and some cities in the US and Canada. Please check with your travel agent the option which is more convenient to you. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please check whether you need a +++VALID VISA+++ to enter Mexico. Visas can be issued by any Mexican embassy or consulate. Should you require an invitation letter from the GOC, please let us know as soon as possible. This conference is sponsored by the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica (INAOE) and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). We look forward to seeing you in Huatulco! On the behalf of the GOC Elsa Recillas Pishmish, Jose Ramon Valdes and Abraham Luna Astrophysics Department-INAOE