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.