***THIRD ANNOUNCEMENT*** ESO International Workshop on Astrobiology and Planetary Atmospheres - (ASTROBIO2015) Santiago, Chile, September 28 - October 2, 2015 WEB SITE http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/2015/AstroBio2015/ E-MAIL: astrobio2015@eso.org Abstract submission deadline: September 10, 2015 Registration deadline: September 15, 2015 Payment of registration fee: September 15, 2015 What's new? =========== * Extended deadline for abstract submission. Young Ph.D. students and post-docs are particularly encouraged to submit their work for a contributed talk. * Talk selection will be announced by Sep 15 * Extended deadlines for registration and fee payment * Updated webpage with Travel Information, Accommodation and Local Information Please check at http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/2015/AstroBio2015.html Scientific Rationale ==================== Astrobiology has become the meeting point for Astronomers, Biologists, Geologists, and Climatologists interested in putting together the puzzle of how life originated in the Universe. Each year since the discovery of the first extra-solar planet of a Solar- type star (51 Pegb), almost 20 years ago, humanity is one step closer to the discovery of the first Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of its parent star, and the road-map leading to discovery of exolife has already been sketched by the world’s major agencies. A real armada of space missions is already scheduled to launch in the next decade such as JWST, TESS, CHEOPS, and PLATO. Ground-based telescopes in Chile, on the other hand, are deploying a powerful new suite of instruments designed to find and characterise exoplanets, such as GPI in Gemini, and ESPRESSO and SPHERE at the VLT. Additionally, Chile concentrates several extreme environments like the driest desert and areas with the largest density of thermal sources in the World, targeted by Astrobiologists in Biological and Geological Sciences. Chile is becoming one of the major poles of astrobiology worldwide with active research groups at several major universities and observatories. An important activity of the astrobiology community in Chile is the organisation of a major biennial symposium of astrobiology in Chile bringing together astronomers, biologists, geologists, and climatologists from all over the world to discuss the most recent progress in the quest for exolife. AstroBio 2015 is the third symposium of this series. The main aims of this symposium will be to: 1. Bring together the major astrobiology groups from the World and their South American counterparts 2. Foster exchanges across all the major disciplines involved in the field of astrobiology and in particular people working on climatology of Solar System planets; 3. Include a strong parallel outreach program aimed at informing the public about this relatively new discipline with the participation of the main experts in the world in the various disciplines. SOC: * Daniel Apai (U Arizona) * Marcelo Borges Fernandes (ON, Rio de Janeiro) * Michel Crucifix (UCL, Louvaine) * David Ehrenreich (U Geneva - CHEOPS) * María Eugenia Farías (LIMLA - Proimi - CONICET, Tucuman) * François Forget (U Paris 6) * Douglas Galante (LNLS, São Paulo) * Karen Meech (IFA, Hawaii) * Jorge Melnick (ESO, Chair) * Claudio Melo (ESO) * Dante Minniti (UNAB - CATA - MAS - VO, Santiago) * Patricio Rojo (UChile, Santiago) * Giovanna Tinetti (UCL, London) * Rafael Vicuña (PUC, Santiago) Preliminary Program =================== Confirmed keynote speakers: * Charles Lineweaver (ANU, Australia) * Pieter Visscher (University of Connecticut, USA) * Jacques Laskar (Observatoire de Paris, France) * Karen Meech (IfA Hawaii, USA) * Geronimo Villanueva (Goddard Space Flight Center, USA) * Svetlana Berdyugina (KIS, Germany) * Kevin Hand (JPL, USA) * Andrew Howard (IfA Hawaii, USA) * James Jenkins (U. de Chile, Chile) * David Catling (U. Washington, USA) * Francois Menard (UMI-FCA, Chile/France) * Ignasi Ribas (IEEC, Spain) * Didier Paillard (LSCE, France) The preliminary program is available at: http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/2015/AstroBio2015/program.html Social activities ================= Two gatherings are foreseen. A welcome cocktail at the ESO building on Sunday evening and the conference dinner on Wednesday evening which will take place in the beautiful garden inside ESO's premises. Both activities are covered by the registration fee. Registration & Abstract ======================= Registration fee: EUR 250/EUR 150 for students Deadline for payment: September 15 The registration fee is payable through the ESO shop via credit card. It covers the welcome reception, the workshop dinner and all tea/coffee breaks. Abstract submission is open until September 10 Young Ph.D. students and post-docs are particularly encouraged to submit their work for a contributed talk. Important Deadlines =================== * Submission of abstracts: September 10, 2015 * Notification of talk selection: September 15, 2015 * Registration: September 15, 2015; earlier if the 100 conference slots are filled before * Payment of registration fee: September 15, 2015 Accommodation ============= ESO is going to make a special arrangement with Hotel Director, in Vitacura, Santiago. Located at only a few blocks from ESO, Hotel Director will have a special rate for the participants at our conference. All necessary information is now available at: http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/2015/AstroBio2015/accommodation.html as well as other options for lodging.