›The Molecular Universe (IAU SYMPOSIUM 280)

This meeting is the sixth in a series of the International Astronomical Union(IAU) Symposia on Astrochemistry, following the 1985 Goa, 1991 Brazil, 1996 Leiden, 1999 Korea and 2005 Asilomar Symposia. The main goal of the meeting is to bring together observers, theoreticians, and experimentalists from different communities to discuss the many different aspects of our rapidly developing field. The Scientific Organising Committee is formed by the IAU Working Group on Astrochemistry of IAU Commission 34/Division VI (Interstellar Medium), whereas the Local Organising Committee is led by the Department of Astrophysics at the Centro de Astrobiologia (CSIC-INTA), the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional (OAN-IGN) in Madrid and the Universidad de Castilla La Mancha (UCLM) in Toledo.

Topics include:

Star-forming regions from cold pre-stellar clouds to hot cores
Protoplanetary disks
Exoplanets and their atmospheres
Solar system objects from comets to the Kuiper Belt
Envelopes around evolved stars
Extragalactic astrochemistry out to high redshift
Molecules and galaxy formation
Diffuse and dense interstellar clouds
Laboratory astrochemistry: gas and solid state
Theoretical studies of basic molecular data
New tools for the analysis of spectral data
Role of heterogeneity and dynamics in chemical modeling
"Hot" results from Herschel and the promise of ALMA
This meeting will be held on the beautifully renovated campus of the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) in Toledo, close to the old city walls. Toledo is about 1 hour travel from Madrid and it can be reached easily by train or car.