Third International Symposium of Science with the SOAR Telescope

Join us to discuss science with the SOAR Telescope from present day science programs to preparing for the next decade of instruments and science operations. The symposium will take place 13–15 May 2025, simultaneously at INPE in São José dos Campos, Brazil and Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. Registration ends 31 March 2025.

The 4.1-meter Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope is designed to produce the best quality images of any observatory in its class in the world. It is funded by a partnership between NSF NOIRLab, which is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, The Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brazil), Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC).

After 20 years of regular scientific operations, SOAR has established itself as a leading optical/near-infrared observatory facility for the Brazilian and NOIRLab communities. It serves not only as an observation tool, but also as a learning and development laboratory for building state-of-the-art instruments.

The Third International Symposium on Science with SOAR is being organized to widely disseminate scientific results, provide a more detailed understanding of the telescope and its instruments, discuss updates in data reduction and processing, and propose new instruments that meet the demands of future strategies.

The event aims to bring together current and potential telescope users from the Brazil, U.S. and Chilean communities. To allow for international participation, the symposium will take place simultaneously via live-streaming at INPE in São José dos Campos, Brazil and Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

There will be a number of invited speakers, with ample time for contributed (oral) papers, posters, and discussion. Attendees are encouraged to share their experience with SOAR, their expectations for the future, and propose strategies for increasing the telescope's scientific productivity and mechanisms to maximize SOAR's scientific potential.

Participants interested in attending the symposium should register here by 31 March 2025.

Find more information about the symposium on the event page.