Astrobites at AAS 245: Welcome!

This week, Astrobites and AAS Nova are attending the American Astronomical Society (AAS) winter meeting in National Harbor, MD.

Astrobiters Archana Aravindan, Bill Smith, and Jessie Thwaites, Astrobites Media Intern Lindsey Gordon, AAS Nova Editors Kerry Hensley and Susanna Kohler, and AAS Media Fellow Lexi Gault will live-blog the meeting for all those who aren’t attending or can’t make it to all the sessions they’d like. We plan to cover all of the plenaries and press conferences, so follow along here on aasnova.org or astrobites.org! You can also follow Astrobites on Bluesky at astrobites.bsky.social for more meeting content.

Where can you find us during the meeting? We’ll be at the Astrobites booth in the Exhibit Hall all week — stop by and say hello! You can also find Kerry, Susanna, and Lexi at the press conferences Monday through Thursday. AAS press conferences are open to all, and they can also be viewed on the AAS Press Office YouTube channel for anyone not attending the meeting.


Sessions Organized by and Recommended by Astrobiters

The Astrobites crew recommends the National Osterbrock Leadership Program splinter session. This session, titled “Deepening Broader Impacts: Mentorship, DEI, and Career Advancement” (link takes you to the listing in the meeting program; must be logged in for the link to take you to the right place), will be held Tuesday, 14 January, from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm in room Chesapeake 7-8. This splinter session will feature several presentations as well as an interactive workshop, with a focus on deepening broader impacts, strengthening NSF proposals, and acquainting attendees with the National Osterbrock Leadership Program.

We are excited to share that the League of Underrepresented Minoritized Astronomers (LUMA) will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2025 through an AAS Splinter Session titled “IlLUMAnating Conversations” on Wednesday, 15 January 2025, from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm ET. This splinter session will be open to ALL people of color of ALL career stages, not only to LUMA members, so please share with your networks! However, we do ask you kindly fill out this form to confirm your attendance and RSVP as this is a private event by invitation only.

LUMA is a peer mentoring community for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx women across all career stages in the space sciences. Our goal is to provide a safe, supportive virtual community where you can belong and shine. The IlLUMAnating Conversations session marks our 10th anniversary as an organization, and we are celebrating by coming together at AAS 245 for a series of workshops, talks, and community bonding activities for both current members and others in the AAS community interested in attending.

Our morning session will focus on learning how to identify, leverage, and grow your unique skills to benefit your career. We will reconvene after lunch for an afternoon session to explore ways to build deeper relationships within your community and advocate effectively for yourself and others. If you’re looking to make new friends, find a conference buddy, or learn new skills, please join us! You also can attend either the morning or afternoon session, or attend both sessions if you’d like to get more out of it! We will be having a day full of inspiring talks and meaningful workshops to equip you to succeed in your careers and effect change in your communities!

Finally, you can read the currently published AAS 245 keynote speaker interviews here. Be sure to check back all week as the remainder are released!

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