Programme

Invited talks are highlighted in green.

The posters are listed at the bottom of the page.

Tuesday, 6 August 2024

Session 1: Existing Observatory Operations

10:30 – 10:55 Zouhair Benkhaldoun The Oukaimeden observatory and its operation in robotic and remote mode: An inspiration for the creation of other similar observatories in several African countries. (invited)
10:55 – 11:10 Rosalind Skelton An overview of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) telescopes
11:10 – 11:25 Encarni Romero-Colmenero Beyond Borders: Fostering Collaboration and Building Capacity in African Astronomy through SALT
11:25 – 11:45 Myungshin Im Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) for Multi-Messenger Astronomy: Key Results and Future Prospects (invited)
11:45 – 12:00 Stefan Wagner The ATOM telescope: Enabling simultaneous multi-frequency observations throughout the entire electromagnetic spectrum in Africa

Session 2: Astronomical Site Selection & Protection

13:50 – 14:15 Edward Graham An overview of site testing and site characterisation, as applied in the search for an astronomical site in Kenya (invited)
14:15 – 14:30 Abd El Fady Morcos Building large Telescopes and Site Tests
14:30 – 14:45 Mohamed Darwish Impact of Meteorological and Seismological Parameters on Telescope Site Selection: A Case Study in Egypt
14:45 – 15:00 Youssef Hach Characterizing and Comparing Astroclimatic Parameters in the free Atmosphere of the MENA Region Through NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis: A Comparative Study
Break
15:30 – 15:55 Warren Skidmore Establishing the scientific and technical aspects of a future astronomical observatory project (invited)
15:55 – 16:20 Constance Walker Protecting optical observatory sites from the growing satellite constellation interference (invited)
16:20 – 16:40 Ramotholo Sefako Dark Sky Protection in South Africa – a Potential Model for Other Observatories in Africa (invited)
16:40 – 17:00 Federico Di Vruno SKA Observatory: opportunities for Africa and challenges with new large satellite constellations (invited)

Wednesday, 7 August 2024

Session 3: Networks of Telescopes & Systems

10:30 – 10:55 David Buckley Networking Telescopes: Prospects for Autonomous Follow-up of Discoveries from Future Surveys (invited)
10:55 – 11:10 Judi Provencal The Whole Earth Telescope and Stellar Seismology
11:10 – 11:25 Grazina Tautvaisiene Europlanet Telescope Network for promoting international collaboration
11:25 – 11:40 Przemysław Mikołajczyk Black hole TOM – an automatic tool for photometric time-domain data
11:40 – 11:55 Bruce Berriman The Benefits of the Virtual Observatory to Under-served Communities
11:55 – 12:15 Yumiko Oasa Japanese collaboration with universities for ground-based optical/infrared observations (invited)
Break
13:30 – 13:50 Zainab Awad Astrochemistry in Africa: let’s form our bond (invited)

Session 4: Future Plans and Opportunities

13:50 – 14:05 Yosry Azzam Egyptian Large Optical Telescope (ELOT): An Update
14:05 – 14:40 Itzia Aretxaga The impact of ground-based telescopes in the formation of the next generation of astronomers (invited)
14:40 – 14:55 Cyrielle Opitom Using a 40-cm optical telescope in Kenya for NASA’s DART mission support and teaching
14:55 – 15:00 Brian Chaboyer The Southern African Large Telescope: Governance and Future Initiatives
Break
15:30 – 15:55 Mirjana Povic Ground-based optical telescopes in Africa for attaining the UN sustainable development goals (invited)
15:55 – 16:10 Solomon Tessema The Lalibela, Ethiopia Infrared and Optical TelescopeSite Test Status andFutureScience plan
16:10 – 16:25 Zeljko Ivezic Rubin’s LSST: opportunities for worldwide democratization of astronomical research and public outreach
16:25 – 17:00 Discussion

Poster Sessions

Session Times

Poster Session 1 6 August 2024, 10:00 – 10:30
Poster Session 2 6 August 2024, 15:00 – 15:30
Poster Session 3 7 August 2024, 10:00 – 10:30
Poster Session 4 7 August 2024, 15:00 – 15:30

Posters

Ahmed Moursi Using a Small Telescope Featuring a Wide Field of View for Space Situation Awareness
Nebiyu Suleyman, Solomon Tessema Identification of Potential Astronomical Sites in Ethiopia
Youssef Errazzouki, Abdelfattah Habib, Abdelhadi Jabiri, Mohamed Sabil, Benkhaldoun Zouhair Real-Time Profiling of Atmospheric Parameters with Single Star SCIDAR using the Power Spectrum of Scintillation.
Abdoulaye Ba, Papa Douta Tall, Zouhair Benkhaldoun, Mamadou Simana Dramé, Aziz Ziad Characterization of the optical properties of atmospheric turbulence: Application to the choice of the site of the future Observatory of Senegal
Mohamed Fayed Working towards an implementation of a robotic optical telescope.
Mohamed Aboushelib, Abdel Fady Morcos, Samir Nawar, Osama Shalabiea, Zainab Awad Light pollution trend at the Kottamia Astronomical Observatory
Somaya Saad, Mohamed Darwish Current and Future Plans for Observational Astronomy in Egypt
Massinissa Hadjara, Amokrane Berdja, Swagat Ranjan, Elisson De Almeida, Slobodan Jankov, Vladmir Lukin, Abdelkarim Boskri, Zouhair Benkhaldoun, Zheng Jinghui BRICS Southern Observatory (BRICS-SO) Project: Invitation to African countries to invest in Chile
Alisher S. Hojaev Uzbek-Indian Cooperation in Astronomy: Opportunities for Expansion to Africa
Mohammed Sabil, Tarik Mouhtafid, Zineb Ihssane, Elarbi Siher, Zouhair Benkhaldoun Site Testing at Tassemit Mountain, Morocco: Atmospheric Parameters Analyzed Using ERA5 Data
Michael Backes, Jonathan Biteau, Colin Carlile, Hambeleleni Davids, Dainis Dravins, Michele Fiori, Tarek Hassan, Eli Kasai, David Kieda, Michael Lisa, Prasenjit Saha, Naomi Vogel, Roland Walter, Luca Zampieri, Andreas Zmija Stellar-scale astrophysics with optical telescopes using HBT interferometry
Mohamed Helali, Makram Ibrahim Upgrading Helwan Satellite Laser Ranging Station in Egypt, Past and Future.
Francisco Fenias Macucule, Michael Backes Towards Improved EHT Observations: Measuring Precipitable Water Vapour at Potential Sites for the AMT in Namibia.
Stephen Potter, Sunil Chandra, Nicolas Erasmus, Roufurd Julie, Moloko Hlakola, Carel Van Gend South African Astronomical Observatory: The Intelligent Observatory
Mohamed Abdelkareem, Yosry Ahmed Development of a renewable-based hybrid generation microgrid system with energy storage and intelligent control for the new Egypt large optical telescope astronomical observatory
Michael Backes Night-sky brightness measurements towards the Namibian Multi-Wavelength Observatory
Igor Chilingarian Observations and user support at intermediate-sized and large optical telescopes: a detailed comparison.
Timothy Pickering, Lisa Crause, Nico Van Der Merwe Reincarnating and Fully Automating the SALT/SAAO Seeing Monitor, TimDIMM
Ola Ali The Impact of Small Telescopes on Outreach and Education Activities in Egypt.
Hamza Ait Abdelaali, Zouhair Benkhaldoun Unveiling the Night Sky: Assessing Light Pollution and Lighting Technologies around Oukaimeden Observatory
Hamza Ait Abdelaali, Zouhair Benkhaldoun Multispectral analysis of the night sky brightness for the Oukaimeden Observatory, Morocco
Mark Bowman Open-source software for managing telescopes, observatories, and science programs
Hedy Goodman From Timekeeping to Sky-Sweeping: The Sociopolitics of Astronomical Observation
Anne Verbiscer, David Baratoux, Marc Buie, Maram Kaire, Amanda Sickafoose Observing Stellar Occultations in Support of NASA Missions from Africa: Opportunities for African Participation
Shar Daniels, Federica Bianco, Igor Andreoni, Ashish Mahabal Exploring the Sub-Second Transient Sky with Continuous-Readout Images and Neural Networks
Federica Bianco The Rubin ToO program: public data open opportunities for involvement in Multi Messenger Astronomy
Pere Blay, Elisa Nespoli, Vicent Martinez-Badenes, Nestor Sanchez-Doreste A low cost compact optical polarimeter as example of sustainable and accessible instrumentation