FIRST  BYURAKAN  INTERNATIONAL  SUMMER  SCHOOL  FOR  YOUNG  ASTRONOMERS

"OBSERVATIONAL  ASTROPHYSICS"

26 August – 3 September 2006,  Byurakan (Armenia)
 

An international summer school "Observational Astrophysics" will take place on 26 August – 3 September, 2006, in Byurakan (Armenia). It is being organized jointly by the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) and the Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS). The School will be linked to the Byurakan Observatory 60th Anniversary Meeting, which will be held in combination with the ArAS 5th Annual Meeting on September 1-3, so that the students may also participate in these events during the last days of the school.

The Byurakan Observatory is one of the main observational centers of the former Soviet Union and is an important observatory with modern facilities in the Middle East region. It was founded in 1946 by V.A. Ambartsumian and is well known for its large spectroscopic surveys: the First and Second Byurakan Surveys, undertaken by B.E. Markarian and colleagues.

The Byurakan Observatory hosts a number of medium-size optical telescopes, the most important being the 2.6m classical telescope and 1m Schmidt telescope. There are different modern astronomical instruments, including the multi-pupil spectrograph (VAGR). The Byurakan Observatory holds the Digitized First Byurakan Survey (DFBS, or the Markarian survey), containing low-dispersion spectra for ~20,000,000 objects. Many qualified specialists work presently in Byurakan, who are prepared to teach modern observational astrophysics to young people. In addition, a number of well-known scientists are invited to lecture during the school on different interesting topics.

Upper-level University students and post-graduate students are eligible to apply for participation. Students must have a working knowledge of English which will be the official language of the school, as well as sufficient level in physics and mathematics. A maximum of 30 students will be selected. Most of the participants will stay in the Byurakan Observatory hotel and hostel. Some participants may stay in Yerevan at the Yerevan State University (YSU) hotel. A bus will take these participants every day to Byurakan and back. Meals will be offered in Byurakan, too.