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First announcement
Registration, abstract submission and grant applications are now open

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce IAU Symposium 355 on "The Realm of

the Low Surface Brightness Universe", which will be held from July 8

to 12, 2019, at the Guajara Campus of the University of La Laguna in

the island of Tenerife, Spain.

With this first announcement we open the registration, the abstract
submission, and the possibility to apply for IAU grants, all through
the conference webpage at http://www.iac.es/congreso/iaus355/

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Rationale and Key Topics:

IAU Symposium 355 aims to survey the denizens of the low surface
brightness skies, at all wavelengths and resolutions, to show the
richness of physical processes taking place in this regime, which has
not been fully explored yet. From the Zodiacal light in the Solar System
all the way to the cosmological backgrounds, and from the
contributions of amateurs to space-based instrumentation, this
Symposium will provide participants with a broad glimpse of one of the
few last niches that remain to be explored.

A wide range of topics will be addressed:

- State-of-the-art in present and future ground- and space-based
  instrumentation for LSB observations
- Data analysis and management of upcoming LSB surveys
- The nature of interplanetary/cometary dust grains and meteoritic
  streams in the Zodiacal light
- Dust grains in the interstellar medium as traced by cirri
- Mass loss episodes, shocks and debris discs as traced by LSB
  features around stars; orphan SN and GRBs
- Low surface brightness features around galaxies: signatures of past
  and on-going accretion and their constraints on dark haloes
- The nature of ultra diffuse galaxies and other galaxies discovered
  by LSB surveys
- The intracluster light and its role in galaxy evolution in clusters
- The circumgalactic medium of high-redshift galaxies
- The cosmic web of large-scale filaments
- The UV/optical/IR cosmological background radiation and its
  fluctuations
- The role of amateurs in LSB observations and citizen science LSB
  projects

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Important Dates:

    15 March 2019: Deadline for grant applications.
    15 March 2019: Deadline for abstract submission.
    25 March 2019: Results announced for grant applications and abstract
           selection.
    1 April 2019: Deadline for early-bird registration.
    1 May 2019: Announcement of programme.
    8-12 July, 2019: Symposium.
    1 Sept 2019: Deadline for submission of proceedings papers.

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Registration:

The registration fee is 275 euros (when paid by April 1st, 2019) or
325 euro (when paid later). Registration is through our webpage at
http://www.iac.es/congreso/iaus355/ . Registration is required for
abstract submission and to apply for travel grants, but does not
imply immediate payment.

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Travel grants:

The IAU provides funding for a number of grants, which will be
administered by the Instituto de Astrofíca de Canarias. Grants can
include a waiver of the registration fee, travel, and/or accommodation
support. Grants will be paid either in-kind or by bank transfer after
the conference.

Grants are primarily aimed at students and colleagues from developing
countries, from institutes which cannot provide travel funding, or
those who otherwise cannot attend without support. Applications are to
be made by March 15th, 2019 through our webpage
http://www.iac.es/congreso/iaus355/ .

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SOC

Roberto Abraham, Canada
Arianna Di Cintio, Spain
Laura Ferrarese, Canada
Gaspar Galaz, Chile
Yutaka Komiyama, Japan
Sakurako Okamoto, China/USA (Co-Chair)
Marta Silva, Norway
Lee Spitler, Australia
Ignacio Trujillo, Spain (Co-Chair)
David Valls-Gabaud, France (Co-Chair)
Rosemary Wyse, USA

LOC
Mohammad Akhlagi, Spain
Roberto Baena-GalléSpain
Nushkia Chamba, Spain
Simóí-Garcí Spain
Raúfante Sainz, Spain
Johan Knapen, Spain (Chair)
Cristina Martíz-Lombilla, Spain
Jorge Sáhez Almeida, Spain
Ignacio Trujillo, Spain

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Ethics and Anti-harassment statement

The organisers consider this IAU Symposium to be a privileged occasion
for free and frank interchange of scientific ideas, as well as for the
nurturing and creation of professional and social contacts. Any abuse
of power or inappropriate behaviour has no place at IAU Symposium 355.

We specifically refer to the IAU anti-harassment policy and the EAS
Ethics Statement and Guidelines for Good Practice. These will apply
during IAU Symposium 355. By registering for this conference, all
participants confirm that they have read the documents and that they
will follow its recommendations.

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We look forward to seeing you in Tenerife in July!

David Valls-Gabaud, on behalf of the SOC
Johan Knapen, on behalf of the LOC

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Conference webpage: http://www.iac.es/congreso/iaus355/
Conference contact email: iaus355@viajeseci.es