Astronomy in the Alps

View of the Alps from the conference location in Italy
Image Credit: Janine Pforr

This week, about forty astronomers from all over the world are gathered in Sesto, Italy, a small town in the Alps to discuss the process of star formation in galaxies and how it has evolved over the history of the Universe. A great many of these astronomers are CANDELS team members who are presenting their own research based on CANDELS data. The meeting is being hosted by the Sexten Center for Astrophysics. The location is idyllic this time of year (see pictures) and is a premier hot spot for skiing. This remote location is perfect for a workshop like this because astronomers can really focus on the topic being discussed and can also socialize and have fun together.

The goal of the meeting is to understand star formation at high redshift, from z~2 galaxies all the way out to galaxies in the z~8 Universe. Astronomers from both CANDELS and many of the Herschel deep surveys are attending since all of these surveys are crucial for studying this topic. We are discussing various approaches to studying high redshift star formation, so in a few posts over the next couple of weeks, we will write about some of the interesting talks being presented.