Circulars

First announcement

Main topics:

• Galactic BH Binaries: Theory & Observations of Accretion, Jets, and GW Emission
• Seyfert Galaxies, Blazars and TDEs: Theory & Observations of Accretion, Jets and Outflows
• Large-scale Jets and Outflows, Feedback Processes and Impact on Environment
• Particle and Wave Emission: From Cosmic Rays to Gravitational Waves
• Mission Highlights & Upcoming Missions

Important dates:
The registration and abstract submission deadline is July 31st, 2016. We strongly encourage early registration and flight booking (see below).

Location:
The conference will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Kathmandu. This five-star hotel is located within walking distance to the heart of the city, the Royal Palace, the historic Durbar Square and several other temples and historic sites. We have managed to secure an attractive room rate, starting at 135 USD/night (including breakfast and all taxes), if booking is made before July 31st (and if a minimum of 30 bookings is received). Alternatively, a variety of other hotels at different rates is available in Kathmandu. Given the very low overall life-cost level in Nepal, attending this conference will be rather inexpensive.

Flights:
We strongly recommend to book flights to Kathmandu as early as possible, as prices are expected to rise significantly over the months just before the conference. At the time of writing, flight rates typically start from 550-800 Euro: e.g., from Frankfurt: 750 Euro, from Moscow: 550 Euro, from Washington: 1000 Euro, from Beijing: 700 Euro. Airlines flying to Kathmandu include Qatar, Turkish, Air India, Jet Airways, Etihad, and Thai.

Confirmed invited speakers:
See http://events.iasfbo.inaf.it/nepal2016/programme.php

LOC: B. Aryal (Tribhuvan Univ., Nepal), S. Colafrancesco (Wits Univ. & SKA South Africa), S. Komossa (Bonn, Germany), E. Palazzi (INAF/IASF-Bologna, Italy) A. Zdziarski (chair, NCAC, Poland), J. Ziolkowski (NCAC, Poland)

SOC: V. Beskin, M. Boettcher, B. de Marco, M. Gilfanov, E. Kara, S. Komossa (chair), C. Kouveliotou, C. Mundell, B.S. Sathyaprakash, L. Stawarz, L. Stella, M. Trenti, A. Tschekhovskoy, P. Uttley, A. Zdziarski

Second announcement

Final announcement

Talks
A laptop will be available to upload your talks. Since a large number of local students will be present, and since the workshop covers a relatively broad range of topics, we would like to ask each speaker to include at least one viewgraph to introduce the general topic of their talk.

Posters
The maximum poster size is A0 (84.1 x 118.9 cm). Each presenter can introduce the poster in a short talk of 3 minutes duration, with one single viewgraph.

Reception and registration
Registration at Hotel Radisson opens on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 17:00, and continues on Monday. A welcome reception at Hotel Radisson will be held on Sunday, starting at 19:00. The sessions start on Monday at 09:00.

Local time
Nepal is 5 hours and 45 minutes ahead of GMT (note, that this differs from India by 15 minutes, where time is 5 hours and 30 min ahead of GMT).

Venue
The conference will be held at the Hotel Radisson in Kathmandu. Lazimpat, PO Box 2269, Kathmandu, Tel : +977-1-4411818, Fax : +977-1-4411720, The hotel is located within walking distance to the heart of the city, the Royal Palace, the historic Durbar Square and several other temples and historic sites.

How to reach the hotel from the airport
Participants who stay at the Radisson and have provided their arrival information, will be picked up at the airport. There is an information desk at the airport. Upon arrival, look for a representative of the hotel. If transport has not been arranged or a representative is not there, then take a prepaid taxi. There is a taxi booth in the arrival hall. The price is a few 100 NPR.

Visa
Citizens of all countries (except India) need a visa to Nepal. For most nationalities, a tourist visa can be obtained after arrival at Kathmandu airport. Your passport should be valid at least 6 month after the entry date, and you need one--two passport-type photos. Visa have to paid in cash. Prizes are 25 USD for 15 days; 40 USD for 30 days; 100 USD for 90 days.

Currency
The currency is Nepali Rupee (NPR). It is easy to change cash and access ATMs in Kathmandu. There are numerous exchange counters especially in the tourist area Thamel, which is ~10 min walking from the Hotel Radisson.

Weather
The temperature in Kathmandu is about 20-25 C during daytime, and 15-20 C during the night. It should be quite sunny but occasional rain is possible. If you are going to the mountains after the conference, the temperature there can eventually drop below 0 C.

Water
Tap water in Kathmandu contains high levels of minerals and it is not recommended to drink it. The Radisson hotel will provide bottled water per room as well as free filtered water. Bottled water is also available in local shops.

Comments and questions can be addressed to palazzi@iasfbo.inaf.it