FIFTH  CIRCULAR --- FIFTH CIRCULAR --- FIFTH CIRCULAR

Dear Colleague: 

Arrangements for the conference described below and in previous circulars are almost 
complete. More than 90 participants have confirmed their plans to  attend. Please see 
below for urgent information regarding lodging and visas.

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  SUPERNOVA 1987A: 20 YEARS AFTER 
  Supernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursters   
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to be held in:

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 Aspen, Colorado, from 19 - 23 February 2007 
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Scientific Program:
------------------

The program of oral contributions is almost fully scheduled and is posted on the 
conference website:

 http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/conferences/supernova1987a/

There is still space for posters so that participants are encouraged to bring posters
and to register them through the conference web site. If the available poster space is 
exceeded, preference will be given to those who do not have a talk.

Registration Status:
--------------------

The conference is essentially BOOKED OUT, with more than 90 confirmed participants.   
We have started a waiting list to replace cancellations. If you wish to be included 
on the waiting list, please go to the conference web site and register. Priority will 
be given in the order your registration is received.  All presently registered participants
are listed on the "Participants" link. If you have registered and your name is not included,
please send an email to supernova1987a@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov and let us know.

Registration Fee:
-----------------

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The registration fee (US $300.-) is OVERDUE!  
PLEASE PAY THIS FEE IMMEDIATELY!
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To pay your registration fee, go to the conference website and click on the link 
REGISTRATION, where you will find a form that you must fax or mail to the 
Aspen Center for Physics.

LODGING:
-------

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You must make your own reservation. If you have not secured 
lodging space already, please do so immediately! The Inn at Aspen,
where we have reserved a block of 60 rooms, is fully booked.  
***********************************************************

A few participants are staying at the Tyrolean Lodge (phone 970-925-4595), and they 
have a few rooms left. It's $185 per night and 1 km from the Aspen Center for Physics.
Also, at least one person has found accommodations in The Boomerang Lodge (phone 970-925-3416)
but we do not have any additional information about it at the present time.

Sharing of Hotel Rooms:
-----------------------

There is no extra charge for two people occupying a room.  

If you have already booked a room, please consider sharing your room.  
This will save you considerable money and will help us solve our space crisis.
So, if you wish to share costs, you can click on the link "ACCOMMODATIONS" on the 
conference website to find a list of people seeking roommates or to post your name 
there. You can also find the e-mail address of others willing to share and contact 
them directly. Then you can either invite one of those people to share a room by email,
or you can list your name, indicating that you have booked a room, and let people contact you.   

If not, look on the roommate finder list to see if anybody has booked a room and is seeking 
a roommate. If these strategies don't work, please let us know immediately.  We may also be 
able to find shared space for you in a condominium.


Traveling to Aspen:
-------------------

Have your travel agent make reservations far in advance, since winter weekend travel 
is very popular. Flying from Denver to Aspen takes about 35 minutes and is served by 
United Express, 1-800-241-6522. There are direct flights to Aspen from Minneapolis & 
Memphis (Northwest 1-800-225-2525), Los Angeles & San Francisco (United), Salt Lake 
City (Delta), and Phoenix (America West). There are also direct flights to Eagle from 
Chicago, Miami, New York, Newark and Dallas (American Airlines) and Atlanta and 
Cincinnati (Delta). With the current state of airlines, all of these options may change. 
Ground transportation is available from both Denver (4 hours) and Eagle (1.5 hours) 
through Colorado Mountain  Express: 1-800-525-6363, Fax 970-949-5032. Reservations 
are required.  To get the discounted rate, $112 Denver/Aspen one way and $63 Eagle/
Aspen, mention that you are with the "Aspen Physics Group".

VISA:
-----

Most non-US citizens will have to obtain a visa to be able to enter the US.
Please check the visa section on the State Department's web site:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/

If you need a visa you can write us an email and we will fax you an invitation 
in support of your visa application at your home country's US consulate.
Please note that most US consulates have substantial waiting periods to
obtain an appointment, so do this as early as you can to avoid problems.

Recreation:
-----------

The elevation of the town is nearly 8,000 feet, so consider the effects of the altitude 
during your first few days, drink lots of water and don't overdo exercise. Aspen offers 
a wide variety of Winter sports, including downhill and cross-country skiing, ice-skating,
and walking. Equipment can be rented for all activities, and instruction is also available. 
We have obtained ski lift tickets at a rate of $49 per (half?) day. You may purchase them
at the Aspen Center for Physics during your stay. If you plan to rent skis, we will direct 
you to the shops that will give you a discount if you mention the conference.

Proceedings:
------------

Talks (review, invited and contributed) and (if possible) poster contributions accepted by 
the scientific organizing committee will be published in a proceedings, for which we are 
currently negotiating with publishers.

SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE (SOC):
--------------------------------------

S. Blinnikov (ITEP, Russia)
C. Cesarsky (ESO, Germany)
J. Danziger (Osservatorio Astronomico, Italy)
A. Fabian (U of Cambridge, UK)
A. Filippenko (UC Berkeley, USA)
C. Fransson (Stockholm Obs., Sweden)
F. Frontera (U Ferrera, Italy)
S. Immler (NASA/USRA/GSFC, USA) 
J. Marcaide (U de Valencia, Spain)
R. McCray (U Colorado, USA)
K. Nomoto (U of Tokyo, Japan)
A. Ray (Tata Inst. of Fund. Res., India)
J. Spyromilio (ESO, Chile)
R. Sunyaev (MPA, Germany)
Z. Wang (Nanjing U, China)
E. Waxman (Weizmann Inst. of Science, Israel)
K. Weiler (NRL, USA)
S. Zhekov (Inst. Space Research, Bulgaria)

ORGANIZERS:
----------

R. McCray (U Colorado),
K. Weiler (NRL),
S. Immler (NASA/USRA/GSFC)

If you did not respond to previous circulars and wish to be added to the conference 
mailing list, please send an email to supernova1987a@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov.

We hope to see you in Aspen!

Regards,

	Richard McCray (U of Colorado),
	Kurt Weiler (NRL) and 
	Stefan Immler (NASA/USRA/GSFC)
	on behalf of the Scientific Organizing Committee

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email: supernova1987a@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov
web:   http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/conferences/supernova1987a/
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