First Annual Conference on ASTRONOMICAL DATA ANALYSIS SOFTWARE AND SYSTEMS November 6-8, 1991 Tucson, Arizona GENERAL INFORMATION MEETING LOCATION The Conference will be held at the Radisson Suite Hotel Tucson. Radisson Suite Hotel Tucson 6555 East Speedway Tucson, Arizona 85710 Telephone: (602) 721-7100 or toll-free, 1-800-333-3333 (US and Canada) FAX: (602) 721-7100, ask for Ext. 7614 REGISTRATION Packets for Conference registrants can be picked up at the Radisson Hotel during the reception, and prior to and during the general sessions (times are listed below). These packets will contain your name tag, any banquet tickets and/or Kitt Peak tour tickets that you have purchased, the Conference program, the Abstract booklet, and any other items we think you may find interesting. Tuesday November 5 5-9pm (Reception area) Wednesday November 6 7:30am-4pm (Ballroom pre-function area) Thursday November 7 7:30am-4pm (Ballroom pre-function area) Friday November 8 7:30-8:30am (Ballroom pre-function area) We will not be accepting any registrations at the time of the meeting so be sure you have properly registered before November 5. We expect the meeting to be crowded so walk-ins will be discouraged. CONFERENCE PROGRAM A preliminary Conference program is enclosed with this packet. There are 14 invited talks along with 27 contributed oral talks scheduled as well as over 80 poster papers and demos. The general sessions will be held in the Ballroom at the Radisson Hotel. Invited talks are scheduled for 20 minutes plus a 10 minute discussion period. Contributed oral talks are allocated 10 minutes plus a 5 minute discussion period. Visual aids available for oral presentations will include an overhead projector for transparencies and a 2 x 2 projector for 35mm slides. This is a large room so be sure to make your view graphs accordingly. If you have slides be sure to give them to the projectionist at least 15 minutes before the session with your talk begins. Poster papers and demos will be displayed in the Garden Court at the Radisson Hotel. Poster papers will be up for 1 full day and each are allocated one square meter of space. Poster papers should be posted between 7:30-8:30am of the day they are scheduled and removed by 6:30pm of the same day. We recommend that you bring your own supplies for your poster but we will try to have a limited supply of the more common items on hand as well. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS The proceedings of the Conference will be published as part of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series. Diana Worrall, Chris Biemesderfer, and Jeannette Barnes will edit the volume. Both oral and poster papers are being accepted for publication. Since it is necessary to limit the size of the volume the following page size restrictions have been imposed: invited papers are limited to 10 pages; contributed oral talks are limited to 5 pages; poster papers are limited to 3 pages. Electronic and camera-ready copy must be received by us no later than *December 6, 1991* to guarantee the paper's inclusion in the publication. We would of course prefer that everyone had their paper in hand at the time of the Conference but we know that is not being realistic. Details about the format for the electronic and camera-ready copy are included in this packet. If you do not have a copy of this information let us know immediately (softconf@noao.edu). Each registered participant will receive a copy of the published proceedings as part of the registration fee. BOFs (Birds of a Feather Sessions) Several BOFs have been scheduled during the meeting. Since there are several of these sessions it is necessary to run them concurrently. Four BOFs are planned for Wednesday night, November 6, from 7:30-9:30pm. o Data Acquisition SW with On-Line and Pipeline Processing (organized by Carol Christian, UC Berkeley, carolc@ssl.berkeley.edu) - This BOF will be devoted to a discussion of data acquisition systems and on-line processing. Both ground based and space based instrumentation share the problem that large volumes of data must be received, analyzed and stored efficiently. John Kerr (CFHT) and Skip Schaller (UofA) will discuss and demo their acquisition software. Also, various strategies for using windows environments, X-widget sets and IRAF commands for acquiring data will be discussed. o Installation and Maintenance of IRAF, STSDAS, and PROS (organized by Suzanne Jacoby, NOAO, sjacoby@noao.edu) - This session is intended for site managers who install and maintain IRAF, STSDAS and PROS. Interested users may also find the session useful. Representatives from the three software development groups will participate; ample time for questions will be scheduled. Topics to be covered include such frequently asked questions as configuring the device and environment tables for the local site, IRAF installation in the X environment, IRAF versus NFS networking, obtaining hardcopies from displayed images and graphics, software development with IMFORT or SPP, adding a local package and special concerns of installing STSDAS and PROS. o IRAF in the Undergraduate Environment (organized by Lee Hawkins, Wellesley College, lhawkins@annie.wellesley.edu) - This BOF will be concerned with the implementation and use of IRAF in the undergraduate environment, and will cover hardware platforms, additional hardware and software that make life easier with IRAF, and a brief discussion of the experiences (both good and bad) that the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium has had with IRAF. The BOF will conclude with a free-for-all discussion between the participants covering any IRAF or other issues that folks wish to discuss. o The Use of IDL in Astronomy (organized by Wayne Landsman, ST Systems Co., landsman@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov) - IDL (Interactive Data Language, Research Systems Inc.) is a commercial image display, plotting, and programming language which is widely used in astronomy. This BOF session will discuss the astronomy software currently available in IDL, and developments in the IDL Astronomy User's Library. A representative from RSI will talk about recent and planned improvements to the IDL language. Three BOFs are scheduled Friday afternoon, November 8, from 4-5:30pm. These will be users group meetings for IRAF/NOAO, STSDAS, and PROS. SPECIAL EVENTS Several social events have been planned during and after the conference. A Conference Reception is planned for Tuesday evening, November 5, at the Radisson Suite Hotel, 7-9pm. There will be light snacks offered as well as a no-host bar. The reception will be held at the Garden Court and Terrace, weather permitting (otherwise it will be moved to the Ballroom). The Conference Banquet will be held Thursday evening, November 7, from 7-9:30pm, at the Charles restaurant, just a short walk from the Radisson Hotel. If you have not made your banquet reservations you will need to do so before the Conference since we expect to have few if any tickets available at meeting time. Seating is limited. Two tours are available on Saturday, November 9, for those wishing to stay over the weekend and enjoy the Tucson area. o Tour to Kitt Peak National Observatory - 8:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. This tour includes a visit to the 4-meter telescope, the McMath solar telescope, and the observing room of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's 12-meter telescope. Kitt Peak is at an elevation of 6800 feet so bring warm clothing and walking shoes! **People with respiratory or cardiac disorders should take proper precautions!** Tickets are limited and we expect that few if any tickets will be available at meeting time. No lunch will be provided. Buses for the tour will leave/return from/to the Radisson Hotel parking lot at the times mentioned earlier. o Tour to Desert Museum and San Xavier Mission - 9:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. This tour highlights two of the "must see" attractions around Tucson and at the same time shows off our beautiful Sonoran desert. The tour is being handled by "Off the Beaten Path Tours" and reservations should be made directly with them (see the enclosed flyer). There is a lunch stop. HOTEL INFORMATION If you have not made room reservations yet the Radisson may still have some rooms available. The special room rate for this Conference is $65.00 per night (plus 9.5% tax and $1.00 surtax per night) for both single and double occupancies. For triple or quadruple occupancy the rate will increase $10 per person per night. Complimentary full, hot breakfast buffet each morning and refreshments and cocktails from 5:00-7:00 pm are included with each room. Be sure to mention "NOAO" when making your reservations to get this special rate. Please make your room reservations directly with the hotel. Accommodations *must* be confirmed with a check for the 1st night's deposit or you can use a credit card (American Express, Visa, MasterCard, or Diners Club). You will be charged for the 1st night if reservations are not cancelled 48 hours prior to arrival. If you find that the Radisson is full let us know and we will try to help you find accommodations (Jeannette Barnes, 602-325-9381). TRANSPORTATION An airport shuttle, called the Arizona Stagecoach, is available to transport you from the Tucson International Airport to the Radisson Hotel, at a discounted rate of $7.50 to hotel guests. This shuttle is located at the lower level (baggage claim area) of the airport terminal building just across from the exit door. For those wishing rental cars, Budget, Dollar, General, Avis, Hertz and National have service counters in the baggage claim area at the airport. Thrifty, Rent-a-Ride, Sears and Value Rent-a-Car provide pickup services and are located a short distance from the airport. MEALS The hotel has a pleasant indoor/outdoor restaurant, the Cafe Dorado, and there are numerous other restaurants within a short to moderate walking distance from the hotel. A list of local restaurants in the area is being prepared and it will be included in your registration packet. Remember, if you are staying at the Radisson that they offer a complimentary full breakfast bar each morning at the Cafe Dorado. WEATHER November is generally a very pleasant month in Tucson with a touch of fall in the air. However, November can also bring some surprises in the way of short but chilly winter storms! Expect temperatures in the low 40's (F.) in the evening and around 70 during the day (but remember those possible winter storms that could bring some rain and cooler temperatures!)