Planetary and space scientists are convening this week (8.-12.9.) at the joint Europlanet Science Congress and Annual Meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society.
The congress covers topics throughout the Solar System from planets to small bodies, such as the newly discovered interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS and a potential Moon-impactor 2024 YR4, as well as exoplanets, including rocky Earth-like exoplanets. Ground-based and space-based observational facilities are presented, as well as experimental, theoretical, and numerical methods to resolve timely questions in planetary sciences and space safety.
Among significant research results, postdoctoral researcher Zuri Gray from the University of Helsinki presented pioneering polarimetric observations of 3I/ATLAS taken at the Very Large Telescope (European Southern Observatory, Chile) and Nordic Optical Telescope (Canary Islands). These observations allow for the retrieval dust particle properties in the comet’s coma.
The congress takes place at the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki and online, with more than 1500 on-site participants and more than 1900 scientific presentations, bringing a large number of internationally acclaimed scientists in planetary science to Helsinki. The joint meeting is organized in Europe for the third time and for the first time in Finland.
It is organized by the Europlanet Society, with a local organization committee from the University of Helsinki and Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Additional information
Docent, University Researcher Antti Penttilä, Vice-Chair, EPSC-DPS 2025 Local Organizing Committee (LOC), University of Helsinki, antti.i.penttila@helsinki.fi, +358 50 524 0968
Academy Professor Karri Muinonen, LOC Member, University of Helsinki, karri.muinonen@helsinki.fi, +358 50 415 5474
Academy Research Fellow Anne Virkki, LOC Member, University of Helsinki, anne.virkki@helsinki.fi, +358 50 403 3503
Docent, University Researcher Tomas Kohout, LOC Member, University of Helsinki and Aalto University, tomas.kohout@helsinki.fi, +358 2941 51008
Professor Mikael Granvik, University of Helsinki and Luleå University of Technology, mikael.granvik@helsinki.fi, +358 50 318 2271