ESOP42 – 42nd European Symposium on Occultation Projects

Welcome to ESOP 42!

Some preliminary information about the meeting can be found in these presentation sides.

• If you are attending the meeting in person, please register here.
• Online participants should register here. Online participation is free of charge.
• Please pay here to complete your registration for ESOP 42 (onsite participants only). The promo code to be used for this meeting is CONFAOP23
• Please submit your contribution title and abstract (onsite participants only) here.

Registration deadline: Aug 31st.
Abstract submission (talk/poster): Aug 31st.
Hotel Reservation (Armagh City Hotel discounted rate): Expired. See under “Accommodation” tab for more information.

Refunds for cancellations will be considered on a case by case basis.

ESOP XLII

The conference will be held at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in the cathedral city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. AOP combines a 230-yr old historic Observatory, home to the Dreyer New General Catalogue and the Shelton “Regulator” clock used by His Majesty King George III to time the 1769 Transit of Venus, with a modern astronomical research department and a state-of-the-art Planetarium facility dedicated to exposing and educating its approx. 15,000 annual visitors to space and astronomy. AOP is one of three historical observatories in Ireland, the others being Birr Castle (Co. Offaly, RoI) and Dunsink Obs. (Co. Dublin, RoI).

In addition to these sites of astronomical interest, the island offers a wide variety of sightseeing destinations to the casual visitor, such as the Antrim coast and Giant’s Causeway, the Titanic Quarter in Belfast or the Sperrin & Mourne Mountain ranges.

For further information about local places of interest, visit:

https://visitarmagh.com/places-to-explore/
https://discovernorthernireland.com/about-northern-ireland/counties/co-armagh/county-armagh/

 

Armagh is served by three airports:

• Belfast International (BFS)
• Belfast City (BHD)
• Dublin International (DUB)

Travel to Armagh from the airport is via bus, taxi or rented car. There is no train station in Armagh. The nearest one is in Portadown (approx 15 min from Armagh by car).

If travelling from one of the Belfast airports, you will need to get a bus into Belfast city centre (service 300 for BFS, 600 for BHD) before taking another bus into Armagh. This will be either the 251 or the 270. From Dublin airport, the bus service to Armagh is the X4. Note that this bus is quite infrequent and also does not accept card payments on the bus. Please check the timetable for up to date times and prices. Bus and train timetables can be found at https://www.translink.co.uk/

 

Visas and other Authorisations

Participants are responsible for ensuring their own eligibility to enter the UK and, if required, for obtaining the appropriate visa.

The organisers can issue a formal letter of invitation to potential participant that require such a letter for visa or funding purposes. If required, please write to esop42@armagh.ac.uk (Subject: esop42 invitation) and provide your full name, institute, and contact details.

A block of 40 rooms has been reserved for the nights of Friday 15 – Tuesday 19 September at the Armagh City Hotel. The room booking is inclusive of full breakfast, free wifi, use of the leisure club, complimentary car parking, and VAT. To book a room, delegates must contact the hotel’s Central Reservations office on (+44)28 3751 8888 and choose option 1, or email reservations@armaghcityhotel.com. A credit/debit card number will be required to guarantee the booking. Please quote “Armagh Observatory” at the time of booking to qualify for the discounted rate. The block reservation deadline has now expired.

The Visit Armagh webpages offer more recommendations for accommodation, including self-catered options. You may find other options not listed on the above websites from Airbnb and booking.com.

Welcome Reception

19:30 – Welcome reception at Armagh City Hotel

Conference Dinner

The conference dinner will take place at at the Charlemont Arms Hotel,  6:30 PM on Saturday 16^th September.

Excursions – Tentative Schedule

Important Note about the Excursions on 18th and 19th: If you intend to participate in either the Sunday evening trip to Navan Centre & Fort, Monday tour of Armagh or the Tuesday trip to Belfast City, we ask that you confirm your participation by sending an email to esop42@armagh.ac.uk. The  subject header should read “ESOP Excursions”  with the email content being either “NAVAN”, “ARMAGH” or “BELFAST” repeated as many times as the number of participants in the individual trips.  For instance, for 1 meeting delegate attending the Belfast trip and Armagh tour + 1 accompanying person attending the Armagh tour, the message should read: “ARMAGH, ARMAGH, BELFAST”. This is to help us gauge numbers and estimate the resource allocation. Excursion participants will be able to pay for the trips onsite during the meeting. Thank You.

Sunday 17th

16:45-18:15  Coach bus trip to Navan Centre & Fort (2 miles from Armagh).

 

Monday 18th – Walking tour of Armagh City

10:00-12:00  Hill of Armagh incl. Church Of Ireland Cathedral, Robinson Library & Registry

12:20-13:00   St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral

13:20-14:20   Lunch and Refreshments @ Armagh City Hotel

14:30-15:30   Talk & tour at Armagh County Museum

16:00-17:00    Tour of Armagh Observatory (exact time TBC)

 

Tuesday 19th – Coach bus trip to Belfast

0900-1300 (includes visits to Belfast Castle and City Hall; Exact itinerary TBC)

Please use this link to pay for the Belfast excursion.

 

Scientific Organising Committee: Apostolos Christou

Local Organising Committee: Heather Alexander, Apostolos Christou, Simon Jeffery, Gavin Ramsay, Marc Sarzi, Sinead Mackle, Laura Scott, Aileen McKee, Ceara Ryan

The LOC and SOC can be contacted by sending an email to esop42@armagh.ac.uk