Home NEON 2022 Proposal 2023 Instrumentation 2023 NEON 2023 Multi-messenger NEON 2024 NEON 2025 Proposal 2025

2025 NEON Observing School

Calar Alto Observatory, Spain

2 - 14 February 2025

The 2025 NEON Observing school will take place in Spain at the The Hispanic Astronomical Center in Andalusia (CAHA), also known as the Calar Alto Observatory, on 2 - 14 February 2024. During the school we will use the 2.2 metre, 1.23 metre telescopes.

During this two week school you will plan observation, observe with professional 1-2 metre telescopes, and reduce and analyse data. All this will be done with a help of an experienced tutor. The school also includes lectures on topics related to telescopes and observing techniques.

The school is primarily meant for PhD students in Astronomy, who do not have prior experience in observing with professional 1-2 metre class telescopes. MSc students in the late stages of their thesis work, and early career PostDocs who do not have observing experience, can also be considered.

If you are interested in hands-on observing experience, and learning all the steps from planning the observations to reducing the data, this school is perfect for you.

ORP

Credits: CAHA

How to Apply


You can apply to this school using this LINK. The application deadline is on Friday October 18, and the applicants will be notified about the selection in early November.

Note that we usually have many people applying to the NEON Observing Schools. Therefore, it is important that you motivate your application well and also have a recommendation letter sent to the organisers by the application deadline.

Preliminary Programme

Sunday
2 February 2025

~15:00 Bus leaving from Malaga airport
~17:00 Bus leaving from Granada train station
~19:00 Arrival in Calar Alto
19:00-19:30 Practical information on the school
19:30-20:15 Dinner
20:15-20:45 Introductions of students, tutors and teachers

Monday
3 February 2025

09:00 - 09:15 Welcome (Calar Alto, ORP)
09:15 - 09:30 School logistics
09:30 - 11:00 Lecture: Telescope optics (Cárdenas Vázquez)
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 - 12:00 Calar Alto Observatory (Pinter)
12:00 - 14:00 Visiting 2.2m and 1.23m telescopes
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 16:30 Lecture: Observing techniques - photometry (Pinter)
16:30 - 17:00 Coffee Break
17:00 - 18:00 Introduction of the observing projects (tutors)
18:00 - 19:30 Group work: first group meeting
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 21:00 Group work: planning observatios

Tuesday
4 February 2025

11:00 - 12:30 Group work: planning observations
12:30 - 14:00 Lecture: Observing techniques - spectroscopy (Korhonen)
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 16:30 Group work: planning observations
16:00 - 16:30 Coffee Break
16:30 - 19:30 Group work: planning observations
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 1st observing night

Wednesday
5 February 2025

11:00 - 14:00 Group work: planning observations
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 16:30 Lecture: Astronomical detectors (Amico)
16:30 - 17:00 Coffee Break
17:00 - 19:30 Group work: planning observations
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 2nd observing night

Thursday
6 February 2025

11:00 - 14:00 Group work: planning observations
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 16:30 Lecture: Introduction to Adaptive Optics (Amico)
16:30 - 17:00 Coffee Break
17:00 - 19:30 Group work: planning observations
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 3rd observing night

Friday
7 February 2025

11:00 - 14:00 Group work: planning observations
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 19:30 Group work: planning observations
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 4th observing night

Saturday
8 February 2025

11:00 - 14:00 Group work: reducing and analysing data
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 19:30 Group work: reducing and analysing data
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 5th observing night

Sunday
9 February 2025

11:00 - 14:00 Group work: reducing and analysing data
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 19:30 Group work: reducing and analysing data
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 6th observing night

Monday
10 February 2025

11:00 - 14:00 Group work: reducing and analysing data
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 16:30 Talk and discussion: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (Primas)
16:30 - 17:00 Break
17:00 - 19:30 Group work: reducing and analysing data
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 21:00 Group work: reducing and analysing data

Tuesday
11 February 2025

11:00 - 14:00 Group work: reducing and analysing data
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 16:30 Talk and discussion: Careers in science (Korhonen)
16:30 - 17:00 Break
17:00 - 19:30 Group work: reducing and analysing data
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 21:00 Group work: reducing and analysing data

Wednesday
12 February 2025

09:30 - 11:00 Discussion : Writing observing time proposals (Korhonen)
11:00 - 14:00 Group work: reducing and analysing data
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 19:30 Group work: reducing and analysing data
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 21:00 Group work: reducing and analysing data

Thursday
13 February 2025

09:30 - 14:00 Group work: presentation preparation
14:00 - 15:00 Lunch
15:00 - 16:30 Lecture: Introduction to optical interferometry (Lykou)
16:30 - 17:00 Break
17:00 - 19:30 Group work: presentation preparation
19:30 - 20:15 Dinner
20:15 - 21:00 Group work: presentation preparation

Friday
14 February 2025

09:00 - 09:30 Group presentation 1
09:30 - 10:00 Group presentation 2
10:00 - 10:30 Group presentation 3
10:30 - 11:00 Group presentation 4
11:00 - 11:45 Lunch
11:45 - 12:00 Closing remarks
12:00 Leaving Calar Alto

Main organisers

Heidi Korhonen, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany
Viktoria Pinter, CAHA, Spain
Jesús Aceituno, CAHA, Spain

Tutors

Eva-Maria Ahrer, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany
Cristina Cabello González, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
Luca Costantin, Centro de Astrobiología, INTA-CSIC, Spain
Daniel Mortimer, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany

Lecturers

Paola Amico, European Southern Observatory, Germany
Conchi Cárdenas Vázquez, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany
Heidi Korhonen, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany
Foteini Lykou, Konkoly Observatory, Hungary
Viktoria Pinter, CAHA, Spain
Francesca Primas, European Southern Observatory, Germany

Contact: send a message to the main organiser.