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YORK UNIVERSITY TO CO-HOST TORONTO'S OWN "SPACE JAM" TORONTO, January 9, 1997: The latest news in space and astronomy will be announced at a conference in Toronto, when some 1,500 astronomers gather for the 189th conference of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) from Jan. 12 to 16 at the Westin Harbour Castle Conference Centre. York University and the University of Toronto are co-hosting the AAS conference, during which leading scholars will share their new scientific discoveries and new research findings about planets, stars, galaxies, supernovae and more. At last year's conference in San Antonio, Texas, astronomers announced the discovery of two planets in other solar systems. "This is an excellent opportunity for York University," said Prof. Michael De Robertis, York's chief representative on the local organizing committee. "We're proud to be involved, and we will benefit greatly from the exposure and the prominence of being co-hosts. All of our astronomy faculty strongly support the event, and about 90 per cent of our graduate students and some of our undergraduate students will be helping out as volunteers. This is an unprecedented opportunity for our students, and we are so pleased by their strong show of support." "This conference is rarely held outside of the United States, and we are honoured that they chose Toronto. The AAS chose York to be one of the conference hosts because they thought so highly of our city and of the astronomy and astrophysics being carried out at the universities here," said De Robertis. "This is only the second time the winter conference has been held in Canada in almost 100 years." Twenty-five papers are being presented by York faculty members. York astronomy professor Kim Innanen is one of 17 speakers on the Prize Lecturers and Invited Talks list. Innanen and his research collaborators successfully predicted the existence of a Trojan asteroid two months before other observers discovered it in 1990. Innanen's team was the first to predict the existence of these asteroids orbiting with the planet Mars. During a plenary session on Wed. Jan. 15 at 3:40 p.m., Innanen will share with his colleagues his latest research findings, "Recent Insights into the Dynamics and Evolution of the Solar System." New work by astronomy professors Marshall McCall of York University and Ronald Buta of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, 1995 co-discoverers of two new galaxies (MB1 and MB2), will be part of a pictoral display titled "The IC 342-Maffei Group Revealed" on Wed., Jan. 15 at the York University booth. Jack D. Farmer, a member of the NASA team that discovered remnants of life forms in a Martian rock in 1996, will give a public address on "The Search for a Fossil Record of Life on Mars," on Monday, Jan. 13. The AAS, established in 1899, is the major professional organization in North America for astronomers, scientists, and other individuals interested in astronomy. The AAS includes astronomers from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, India, etc. Many of the world's top astronomers and space scientists, representatives of satellite companies, researchers from academia and industry, NASA personnel, and other groups, will be on hand. The AAS meets twice a year, once in summer, once in winter. This is only the second winter meeting of the AAS to be held in Canada since 1899. The first was in Montreal in 1964. All AAS conference events will take place at the Westin Harbour Castle Conference Centre, 1 Harbour Square, at Queen's Quay and Bay Street in downtown Toronto. To find out more about the American Astronomical Society meeting, visit the Internet site: http://www.aas.org.
For more information, call:
Professor Michael De Robertis
Mary Ann Horgan
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