What To Expect at .Astronomy

.Astronomy tries not to be like other academic meetings and conferences. We aim to be a place where new ideas are welcome, and new people are supported. Most events are a mix of conventional, short-form talks; unconference sessions; and a hack-a-thon.

There Will be Talks

We have had some amazing speakers at .Astronomy, which we mostly source from people wishing to attend. We also invite some keynote speakers who we feel can help the tone of the meeting and inspire some great conversation and ideas.

Some of the best talks at .Astronomy have been the ones you would rarely find at a regular academic meeting, we want people to suggest and present new concepts and talks about how technology is improving the field - as well as ideas for how astronomy could/should be done.

unconferences Are Strange

Much of the time at .Astronomy is unscripted and unplanned. Unconferences set the timeslots but let the participants decide what will be discussed throughout the meeting. If you want to bring a topic to the meeting, this is the simplest way to do it.

We want to facilitate open and novel conversations, whiteboarding sessions, debates and even manual-writing time. We have also had impromptu nap sessions and mediation. As long as there a few others willing to join in, most unconference sessions can happen.

Hack Days Don't have to Be SCary

We've heard that many people don't know what to expect from hack days and get nervous about being 'good enough' or 'technical enough' to join in. We try to ensure that participants at .Astronomy have a range of skills across many areas. Not everyone is a coder or a theoretician - but those who are may want a writer, a musician or a poet to work on a project.

Hack Day projects range from code to crafts, and the outcomes have been everything from websites, apps, papers, and music videos.