The Seventh NEON Observing School

The NEON Observing schools 2008

La Palma, Spain, from June 23 to July 05, 2008

and

The Third NEON Archive Observing School

ESO, Garching, Germany, from August 27 to September 06, 2008

Sponsored by the European Community, Marie Curie Actions

NEON stands for the Network of European Observatories in the North. The organizing consortium is composed of Asiago Observatory (Italy), Calar Alto Observatory (Germany, Spain), European Southern Observatory (ESO, Germany; including participation from the Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility), Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP, France), Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP, France) and La Palma observatories (ING and NOT, UK, Netherlands, Spain and Nordic Countries).

The NEON Observing Schools are supported by OPTICON and the European Astronomical Society (EAS).

The aim of the NEON summer schools

The purpose of the summer schools is to provide the opportunity for young researchers to gain practical experience in observational techniques, data reduction and analysis and the use of virtual observatory tools. Students will carry out small research projects, centered on selected astrophysical topics, in small groups under the supervision of experienced astronomers. These practical exercises will be complemented by lectures on general observational techniques and archival research for both ground and space based astronomy.

The observing school at the telescopes on La Palma will largely concentrate on the skills required to execute an observing program (imaging and spectroscopy) and instrumental developments. An account on previous observing schools can be found on the EAS Web pages. The Archive Observing School at ESO will concentrate on the quality appraisal of existing data and the research possible with large databases combining ground and space data, with emphasis on data reduction techniques and the new tools now available within the Virtual Observatory. A record of the First and Second NEON Archive Observing school can be found at NEON 2004 and NEON 2006 and

The schools are principally open to astronomy PhD students and postdocs who are nationals of a Member State or an Associate State of the European Union. This includes applicants who are currently working outside the EU. Applications from other European countries will also be considered.