* Astronomy

Nearly 500 astronomers and space scientists will gather for the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting 2007 (NAM 2007), this year held in conjunction with the UK Solar Physics (UKSP) and Magnetosphere Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial (MIST) meetings. NAM 2007 will be hosted by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston and will run from Monday 16 April to Friday 20 April 2007.
 The conference will include 12 plenary sessions and 42 parallel sessions featuring recent research on a wide range of astronomical topics. NAM 2007 is the largest and most important astronomy meeting in the UK.
Scientists will discuss subjects ranging from the study of the Sun, Venus, Mars, Saturn and the asteroid belt to the beginning of the Universe, future telescopes and the search for planets around other stars.
NAM 2007 also has events for the general public. On Monday 18, an astronomy Question Time will take place with a panel of leading scientists chaired by BBC science correspondent Christine McGourty. The public audience will be able to submit questions on any topic in modern astronomy - anything from the possibility of extraterrestrial life to the likelihood of a catastrophic asteroid impact. The event will be streamed live on the UCLan conference website.
A highlight of the week will be Wednesday evenings public lecture by Hungarian astrophysicist and composer Zoltan Kollath, performing pieces inspired by the vibrations of stars. Dr. Kollath regularly takes his music to venues around Europe and this is his first UK appearance.
On Thursday RAS Gold Medal winner Prof. Nigel Weiss will give a key lecture where he will refute recent suggestions that changes in the output of the Sun are the major force behind global warming.
Full details of the programme, and abstracts of the presentations and posters, are available on the meeting website at:
www.nam2007.uclan.ac.uk