IAUS 402: Massive stars across redshifts in the era of JWST and large surveys
Dates: 15-19 September 2025
Venue: The Coral y Marina Hotel , in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
PROGRAMME
The 402nd International Astronomical Union (IAU) Symposium will be held in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico in September 2025. This international conference will bring together observational and theoretical astrophysicists from different communities to discuss all aspects of massive stars and to gauge the progress that has been made so far and identify areas that still need improving. The subjects covered in this meeting will be observations and modelling of massive-star atmospheres and evolution (single and binary), final products but a special focus will be high-z stars, large surveys and key detailed observations as well as population synthesis. We will also be holding a session on innovative observation techniques such as asteroseismology, spectropolarimetry and interferometry.
During the Symposium, we will offer a public talk at the Science Museum of Ensenada, a display of a selection of astrophotography images at a local venue, possibly the Art Museum and we will also run one or more “Pint of Science” evenings at local pubs, with Symposium participants speaking.
The Massive Stars Commission (G2) of the IAU’s Stars and Stellar Physics Division organizes this symposium, typically held every 4 years, to present the latest research findings, discuss the status of current research in massive stars, and chart the way forward for future research. The first meeting was in Argentina in 1971, and in the last decade we organised “Massive Stars: from Alpha to Omega” in Greece (2013), “IAUS 329: The Lives and Death Throes of Massive Stars” in New Zealand (2016) and IAUS 361: Massive Stars Near & Far in Ireland (2022).
INVITED SPEAKERS
Evelyn Alecian, Marcelo Borges, Floor Broekgaarden, Volker Bromm, Gustavo Bruzual, Matteo Buggli, Mirko Curti, Sylvia Ekstroem, Raphael Hirschi, Zsolt Keszthelyi, Chiaki Kobayashi, Jesús Maíz-Apellániz, Pablo Marchant, Lucimara Martins, Maryam Modjaz, Itumeleng Monageng, Coralie Neiner, May G. Pedersen, Varsha Ramachandran, Andreas Sander, Sergio Simon-Díaz, Jon Sundqvist, Frank Tramper, Anne Verhamme
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION AND PAYMENT
Submit an abstract before 28th February 2025 at:
https://astronomia.unam.mx/iaus402_massivestars/registration/
The payment platform will open in March, after the abstract selection process has occurred.
The in-person/virtual conference fee is €370/€155 (early registration, opens in February 2025) or €410/€170 (starting April 30th 2025) and includes the electronic proceedings (12 GBP plus tax). In addition, for in-person participants, this includes the welcome reception, coffee breaks and lunches, and the conference dinner. Note that registration for in-person attendance is on a first-come basis until the conference is full, so we encourage you to register early.
An excursion to a local winery will be organized but is not included in the conference fee. Alternatively, visitors can opt to spend the afternoon of the excursion at the beach.
There is limited financial aid available from the IAU for attending the conference and priority will be given to Early Career persons. In order to apply, applicants must submit the form located at https://www.iau.org/static/meetings/GrantSymposium.pdf to our contact e-mail address (iaus402 [at] astro.unam.mx), with subject “IAU grant application”, by February 28th.
CONFERENCE VENUE
The meeting will be held at the Coral y Marina Hotel in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. The Coral y Marina Hotel in Ensenada is a 4-star resort hotel in a marina with state-of-the-art conference facilities.
There is a block booking of 195 bedrooms in the Coral y Marina Hotel from Sunday 14th September 2025 to Friday 20th September 2025 (6 nights) at a special rate per night of $165 USD (before taxes, extra person $23.00 USD including tax). This rate is valid until 14th July 2025 or until all rooms are booked out. However, starting on May 14th 2025, the special rate will only be available for 50% of these rooms. We recommend you book early at this link, which already includes the special rate.
PROCEEDINGS
We will publish an online-only proceedings according to the IAU specifications.
TRAVEL
For travel information and information about visa requirements for Mexico, please visit our conference website.
Transportation to the San Diego and Tijuana airports will be organized for participants who request it but is not included in the conference fee. The bus from Tijuana to Ensenada is about 10-15 USD (one way) and runs frequently.
SCIENTIFIC ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Conny Aerts, Paula Benaglia, Michel Curé, Jan Eldridge, Miriam García García (co-chair), Alexander Heger, Georges Meynet, Sharzrene Mohamed, Bernhard Mueller, Lidia Oskinova, Taeho Ryu, Sergio Simon-Díaz, Daniel Stark, Nicole St-Louis (co-chair), Jorick Vink, Aida Wofford (chair)
LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Aida Wofford and Carlos Román Zúñiga (co-chairs), Jesús A. Toalá, Guillermo García Segura, Alberto López, Sergei Zharikov, María Eugenia García, María de los Ángeles Pérez-Villegas
OFFICIAL POSTER
