ESO on-line conference: The present and future of Astronomy
Inspired by the ESO Cosmic Duologue series, in this online conference we would like to offer the astronomical community a virtual platform to discuss topics of sociological and philosophical relevance in a friendly, respectful and professional atmosphere.
The programme foresees on each day the presentations of two invited and two to three contributed speakers. The talks will be followed by 1hr of discussion. All registered and YouTube attendees at any stage of their career are invited to participate in the discussion that will be moderated by the session chair.
The registration is now closed. It is still possible to attend the event live on the dedicaated YouTube channel. Please see details below.
IMPORTANT: Instructions related to the conference were sent on Friday 12/02 to all registrered participants. If you registered and didn't received the email, please contact the organisers at astro2022(at)eso.org.
For information, questions and to provide feedback please contact astro2022(at)eso.org.
A fully on-line workshop: How to connect to the event
The participation to the web events can be done in two ways:
- Registered participant: registered participants will be able to attend the seminars and interact with the speakers via a Zoom meeting. An email will be sent to you before the beginning of the event with the instructions on how to connect to the Zoom event.
- YouTube attendees: everyone can attend the live events on YouTube. All YouTube attendees will be able to make questions during the live event using a dedicated chat. We encourage you to subscribe to the channel to get automatic notifications each time a new Live Event starts. Attendees who do not have a Google/YouTube account can send their questions using the dedicated form.
Rationale
Science plays a crucial role in modern society. The development of large, international and collaborative organisations and research facilities at the forefront of technology brings many broader societal benefits. Scientists foster knowledge and produce results that have often immediate impact on the life of people. In this context, astronomy plays a privileged role. While having an extraordinary impact on the imagination of many people, astronomy enables researchers to use front-end technology to explore the Universe and its beauty. Driven by a genuine passion for their work, the community of professional astronomers is permeated by a round-the-clock exchange of technical expertise, basic knowledge and scientific discoveries that goes beyond any cultural barrier.
Astronomical research often puts technology beyond its limits. The increasing complexity and diversity of the data is already today requiring the support of Artificial Intelligence to get to the depth of the scientific information hidden in each collected photon.
Astronomical research is communicated mostly through a well-established network of professional journals supporting the publication of tens of scientific manuscripts every day. Scientific publications play a critical role not only in the development and share of knowledge, but also in the sustainability of the research activity itself. It is not uncommon practice to use publication related metrics in evaluation, assessments of performances and hiring processes. This fact has in the recent years put significant pressure on researchers at all career stages, with the risk that the productivity of each individual might gain more and more relevance over the intrinsic quality of the research.
In this on-line workshop we invite the astronomical community to discuss with the help of professional from several scientific and social disciplines, the concerns raised above and to learn about possible new solutions.
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