ANNOUNCEMENT

INTRODUCTION

Astronomical publishing is now in a state of flux for two main reasons: 1) rapid technological change in editorial and production systems, and 2) intense commercial drives to increase productivity from the international conglomerates that now own the majority of publishing houses. The new technology offers astronomers a wide range of possible presentational formats. Cost-cutting exercises, however, have resulted in traditional in-house editing being cut back, the onus of quality of presentation now being laid more on the shoulders of authors of research papers and editors of conference proceedings.

Areas in need of clarification are the moves by the big international journals towards more unified house styles, particularly in such matters as bibliographical referencing and the accessing of information from large on-line databases. The nature and scope of peer review will be critically assessed, as will the arguments for and against the establishment of free-access electronic international journals.

The challenge of accurate popularization of science and the problems of "dumbing down" will be discussed in the contexts of popular books and magazines, newspapers and TV/radio documentaries and news reports. This meeting will look at how scientific results published in astronomical research journals are modified as they percolate through the various genres dedicated to teaching, popularization and news reporting. The differing editorial criteria for each genre will be examined by recognized experts, and ways in which scientists, popular writers and journalists can work together for the good of the dissemination of science will be discussed in depth. Some of the best authorities in all fields of astronomy publishing and broadcasting (researchers, journal editors, book publishers, authors, science journalists, TV and radio producers, etc.) will exchange views and explain the techniques and skills they employ to communicate astronomy.

If you are interested in attending the meeting and/or contributing a paper (oral or poster), please send the Registration Form to the LOC at the address below: commast@ll.iac.es. This information is being continuously updated in our WWW home page http://research.iac.es/proyecto/commast/

SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE (SOC)

Johannes Andersen (Denmark), John Beckman (Spain), Olga Dluzhnevskaya (Russia), André Heck (France), Peter D. Hingley (UK), Paul Hodge (USA), David W. Hughes (UK), Syuzo Isobe (Japan), Mark Kidger (Spain), Derek McNally (Co-Chair, UK), Terry Mahoney (Co-Chair, Spain), Margarita Metaxa (Greece), Paul Murdin (UK), Jayant V. Narlikar (India), John Percy (Canada), Hans Rickman (Sweden) and Aage Sandqvist (Sweden).

LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE (LOC)

John Beckman (IAC), Eva Bejarano (Secretary, IAC), Judith de Araoz (Secretary, IAC), Alister Graham (IAC), Tanja Karthaus (Secretary, IAC), Mark Kidger (IAC), Johan H.Knapen (ING), Terry Mahoney (IAC, Chair), Luis Martínez (IAC) and Monica Murphy (IAC).

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

PRELIMINARY SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME

There will be sessions on:

• Professional journals and circulars
• Institutional publications and conference proceedings
• Educational communicating (textbooks, museums, lectures, etc.)
• Amateur publications
• Popular astronomy (books, magazines, TV and radio)
• Press offices and the news media
• Science fact into fiction
• Training needs for communicating astronomy

CONTRIBUTIONS

These may be presented as talks or posters. Abstracts must be received before February 15th, 2002 (commast@ll.iac.es). Posters will be displayed for the duration of the conference in a room adjacent to the conference hall.

REGISTRATION FEE

The Conference Registration Fee is set at 300 Euros (260 US$). The fee should be paid by credit card (only VISA or MASTER cards are accepted) or in cash at the Registration Desk upon arrival. The current US dollar exchange rate is $1= 190 Pesetas (subject to exchange rate fluctuations). The fixed Euro exchange rate is 1 Euro = 166.386 Pesetas.

SOCIAL EVENTS

There will be a number of social events during the conference. We will update this programme on our Web pages as soon as these activities have been definitively scheduled.

CONFERENCE VENUE AND FACILITIES

The workshop will be held at Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos in La Laguna, just across the road from the IAC's headquarters.

The Conference hall will be provided with the necessary facilities for participants including:

• Slide overhead transparency projectors, video and computer display facilities
• A hall for poster presentations (1m x 1m panels).

Computer facilities will be available at the IAC during the conference.

If presentations require any other facilities, please let us know well in advance.

HOTEL INFORMATION

Hotel bookings will be made through the LOC. We have a travel agent, who has negotiated a block bookings at special rates for Hotel Contemporáneo, in Santa Cruz. For late registrations there is NO guarantee that there will be rooms available at this hotel at reduced price. If you contact the hotel directly you will be quoted a higher rate. ALL PRICES ARE IN EUROS PER ROOM/PER DAY and include all local taxes, and it has been agreed that the hotel must charge no additional costs to your bill. Spanish hotels always include breakfast (restaurant service only) in the room rate. You will only need to make an additional payment for room service at the hotel, for extra meals or drinks and for telephone calls.

Booking your Hotel:

Please fill in the Hotel Reservation Form provided at the end of this file and SEND IT DIRECTLY TO THE LOC, specifying the name of the participant you wish to share with (if applicable) before February 1st. After this deadline we cannot guarantee the booking of your choice.

This hotel is near the García Sanabria Park. It has a Cafeteria, bar, restaurant, etc. All the rooms are provided with air-conditioning, TV, piped music and telephone.

Cancellations:

IMPORTANT If you plan to cancel your reservation, please contact the LOC PRIOR TO 21st FEBRUARY at 15:00h (local time). You will otherwise be charged the price of one night.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

The Canary Islands are rather remote from continental Europe; however, their connections by air are extremely good. Tenerife is regularly connected to 16 foreign airports and there are connections to the major Spanish cities several times a day, as well as direct charter flights to more than 112 foreign cities! The flight time from Madrid to Tenerife is approximately 2 hours 30 minutes. Tenerife has two airports, one in the north, Tenerife Norte (TFN), also known as Los Rodeos), and the other in the south, Tenerife Sur (TFS), known also as Reina Sofia. The airport code to search for connections to both airports is TCI. We recommend using the North Airport if at all possible, as this is much closer to the conference venue.

In most cases Madrid Airport (Barajas) will be used as transfer when coming from non-European countries. There are daily flights connecting worldwide locations and Madrid. Madrid-Tenerife is operated by IBERIA or other Spanish regular airlines (Spanair, Air Europe) and costs 300.51 Euros or less, but this highly dependent on early booking and special offers. There are also daily connections via Barcelona for similar prices. Given the abundant number of charter flights to Tenerife from all over Europe, connections through any other major European airport can be considered. TFN is only connected to Spanish cities by scheduled flight, although there are now some regular charters to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, whereas TFS is a national as well as an international airport. Both have good connections for ground transport. Please consult our Web pages for maps of the island. TFN is more convenient as it very close to La Laguna, and for flights from Madrid it has more frequent connections. In case of difficulty with a direct flight you may consider flying to Las Palmas (on the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria) and crossing to Tenerife North on the frequent Air Shuttle (a 20 minute hop). La Laguna lies 3 km from TFN and 80 km from TFS with a motorway link covering the full journey to both airports. Online information about flights arriving at or departing from Madrid, Barcelona and TFS airports can be obtained at:

Local Transport

There is a very good bus service (here buses are called guaguas). These buses, operated by the company TITSA (green buses) run frequently and cheaply. They are quite comfortable and most of them are air-conditioned. Taxis are inexpensive compared to European standards. Renting a car may also be an alternative, since car rentals in Tenerife are rather cheap (210 Euros - 240 Euros a week for a small car). At both airports, Cicar and Autos Reisen generally offer the best rates.

If you arrive at Tenerife North Airport (TFN) Los Rodeos

There two different buses to La Laguna: 101 and 102. The price of a one-way ticket is 1 Euro. Buses will stop at the main bus terminal in La Laguna, about 15 minutes' walk from Hotel Nivaria, but we recommend to use a taxi, as TFN is very close to La Laguna. It will cost about 5 Euros from the airport to Hotel Nivaria.

If you are arriving at Tenerife South Airport (TFS)

Reina Sofia TFS to the main bus terminal in Santa Cruz direct service (line 341). Departure times: 06:50, 07:50, 08:50, 09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:10, 13:10, 14:10, 14:50, 15:50, 16:50, 17:30, 18:30, 19:30, 20:10, 21:10, 22:10, 22:50, 23:45 and 1:30. The price of one-way tickets is 5 Euros. You can also get a taxi (~60 Euros).

Changing Money

If you need to change foreign currency upon arrival, there are a large number of ATM or cash dispensers for a variety of cards (VISA, MasterCard, Maestro, AMEX, etc.) for instant cash. These can be found in many places in La Laguna and also at both airports. There is a small charge involved (approx. 4%).

There is a bank in the international arrivals lounge at the TFS, but this only operates from Monday to Friday from 08:30h to 13:30h; an exchange desk is available typically from 07:00h to 24:00h. Currency exchange facilities are also available at TFN. A bank kiosk opens from Monday to Friday from 08:30h to 13:30h, and an exchange desk is available from 10:00h to 14:00h and from 18:00h to 22:00h. Nevertheless, if you have the chance to exchange money at Madrid airport where the service is permanently available in the international departure areas, we advise you do so because of the restricted bank opening hours at both Tenerife airports. Many banks are available in La Laguna, and open Monday to Friday from 09:00h to 13:00h.

TENERIFE

La Laguna is the second most important city in Tenerife, some 8 km from the island capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 5 km from Los Rodeos airport (or Tenerife North) and 80 km from the international Reina Sofia airport (or Tenerife South). The latter is the main international airport, whereas the former deals with domestic flights only. Both airports are at about 2.30 hours flying time from Madrid, and about 3 hours from Barcelona.

The Canarian archipelago (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro) is made up of seven volcanic islands located in a privileged part of the Atlantic. Just over 300 km from the coast of Africa, Tenerife is the largest island in the Archipelago and has the most impressive orography.

The climate on the coast is mild during February, with temperatures in the range 15-18º C during the day and 8-10º C at night.

The Island's dramatic orography (Mount Teide, the highest point in Spain, reaches a height of 3718 metres) and the north-easterly trade winds provide Tenerife with a variety of microclimates which are among its many attractions.

HEALTH

There are two large hospitals, the General Hospital (Hospital Universitario de Canarias) (phone: 922-678000), which is under the control of the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife; and the Residence of the National Health Service (Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria) (phone: 922-602114). Both are amply equipped with the most sophisticated medical facilities.

There are also Red Cross centres and emergency telephones at regular intervals along the main motorways and roads of the island. For any kind of emergency, dial 112 directly.

For any kind of emergency, dial 112 directly.

FACILITIES

At the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos

Coffee-breaks: during the conference they will be arranged in an area adjacent to the Lecture Hall.

At the IAC

Fax: Please hand your faxes to reception staff. No faxes will be sent after 18:00h. Our fax number is: +34-922-605210.

IAC opening hours: The IAC is open seven days a week. Official administrative hours are from 08:00 to 15:30 Monday to Friday. Exceptions: Reception (manned till 18:00h), Library (till 18:00h), and Computer Centre Operators (till 18:00h).

HOTEL BOOKING FORM