GALEX Fest: Exploring the UV Universe
A Conference to Celebrate Nine Years of Exploration
September 4-7, 2012
The Huntington Library and Gardens, Pasadena, CA, USA
For more information, see the
conference website.
Selected presentations can be downloaded from the
agenda page.
For more information e-mail galexfest AT srl DOT caltech DOT edu
The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) has surveyed the ultraviolet sky for almost nine years. GALEX surveys have supported numerous galaxy evolution investigations: calibrating UV as a star formation rate tracer, using wide and deep surveys to measure star formation history, studying the evolution of dust extinction and metallicity, selecting and analyzing galaxies in transitory states, finding local analogs to Lyman Break Galaxies, probing and time-dating star formation in a wide variety of physical regimes, and probing star formation properties in low mass, low density settings. Archival data will support more complex investigations such as relating star formation history and galaxy evolution paths to the properties of dark matter halos and their assembly history, and beginning to relate the evolution of galaxies to that of black holes and the intergalactic medium. Over and above GALEX's study of galaxy evolution the surveys have: found all UV bright QSOs at low and high redshift, discovered tidal capture flares from inactive black holes, discovered shock breakout flashes from distant supernovae, selected a sample of galaxies for Baryon Acoustic Oscillation surveys, and in our own Milky Way, discovered and diagnosed spectacular new stellar wind nebulae from aging, mass-losing stars.
This conference will bring together researchers from diverse fields of astrophysics for which GALEX UV surveys have provided key information, including:
- Galaxy formation and evolution
- Star formation, young stars, and exoplanets
- Post main-sequence stellar evolution
- Active Galactic Nuclei and black hole evolution
- Supernovae and other transients
- Interstellar and Intergalactic medium
We particularly hope the conference generates strong cross-fertilization between increasingly specialized subfields of astrophysics. Our goal is to highlight past discoveries and insights, bring forward new ideas for UV and multiwavelength archival investigations and for archival data tools and products, and to summarize the GALEX legacy as a major part of the rich history of astronomical surveys of the past and exciting plans for the future.
The Huntington Library and Gardens are located near the campus of the California Institute of Technology.
Conference website
Last updated on September 12, 2012
