This four-day conference is about the role of maps and mapping in the development of our understanding of the Universe. Maps are a vital step in the analysis and visualization of astrophysical data and are often the dividing line between data analysis of the properties of the instrument and the analysis connecting the data to theory. The conference explores the challenges of making and using maps for astronomy and cosmology on scales ranging from the Galaxy to the visible Universe. Each of the first three conference days is a summary of mapping at a different scale. The final day is an exploration of what will come next, including maps currently under development and plans for mapping in the more distant future.

The conference will take place in downtown Chicago at the Gleacher Center and is part of Chicago's Festival of Maps.

G. Bernstein (University of Pennsylvania)	M. Dobbs (McGill University)
A. Harding (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)	G. Hinshaw (NASA/GSFC)
K. Johnston (Columbia University)	C. Jones (Center for Astrophysics)
H. Newberg (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)	M. Putman (University of Michigan)
M. Rauch (Carnegie Observatories)	R. Scranton (Google, Inc.)
R. Sheth (University of Pennsylvania)	A. Vikhlinin (SAO)
E. Wright (UCLA)	H. Yee (University of Toronto)

Dec 3, 2007	Mapping the Largest Structures
Dec 4, 2007	Mapping Local Structures
Dec 5, 2007	Mapping the Largest Sources
Dec 6, 2007	Mapping the Future

 

MAPPING THE LARGEST STRUCTURES

Dec 3, 2007 The initial perturbations evinced in the CMB, and mapped so exquisitely by recent experiments, are the seeds of all the differentiated structures in the universe. The evolution of these perturbations are traced by numerous observations on many scales; in this first day we shall focus on the mapping of structures at the largest and principally linear scales, over cosmic time.

 

MAPPING LOCAL STRUCTURES

Dec 4, 2007 Our understanding of structure formation over cosmic timescales can be anchored most clearly in studies of the Milky Way and local galaxies, where the ensemble statistics of distant galaxy surveys are replaced by remarkably detailed observations which trace the formation history of individual objects. Our second day will focus on maps and simulations of the formation of our own galaxy and nearest neighbors, and explore how that local understanding influences analyses of even the most distant sources.

 

MAPPING THE LARGEST SOURCES

Dec 5, 2007 Galaxy clusters play a unique role in studies of structure formation, cosmology, and galaxy evolution. As the largest bound sources known, galaxy clusters are the most direct tracers of the non-linear evolution of mass perturbations. Current surveys now routinely locate clusters to beyond redshift one. On this third day we will explore the emerging story of galaxy clusters at many wavelengths, and the inferred interplay between the cluster environment and galaxies and AGN.

 

MAPPING THE FUTURE

Dec 6, 2007 Numerous exciting 'mapping' projects are scheduled for the next decade. From ambitious satellite projects to a multitude of ground-based surveys using both dedicated and existing telescopes we anticipate a further flood of exciting results at a huge range of scales and redshifts. This last day of Cosmic Cartography will focus on these anticipated maps, and what they might reveal.

M. Gladders (U of Chicago)

S. Meyer (University of Chicago)

James Akerman (Ph.D., Geography, the Pennsylvania State University) has been Director of the Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library (Chicago) since 1996, having worked at the Newberry since 1985. His publications and research interests concern the history of transportation and tourist mapping, popular cartography, and atlases, and the use of historical maps in education. He directed the creation of Historic Maps in K-12 Classrooms, an award-winning Web site that uses digital images of original maps from the Newberry's collections to teach the geographic dimensions of American history. He is the editor of Cartography and Statecraft: Studies in Governmental Mapmaking in Modern Europe and its Colonies (University of Toronto Press, 1999) and Cartographies of Travel and Navigation (University of Chicago Press, 2006) and, most recently (with Robert W. Karrow, Jr.), Maps: Finding Our Place in the World (University of Chicago Press, 2007). He is co-curator (with Robert W. Karrow, Jr.) of two exhibitions currently mounted as part of the Festival of Maps, Chicago, "Maps: Finding Our Place in the World" at The Field Museum, and "Ptolemy's Geography and Renaissance Mapmakers" at the Newberry Library.

November 16 - December 2, 2007	Conference Registration open Regular registration fee $325 Student registration fee $250
December 3 - 6, 2007	Cosmic Cartography Conference
December 4, 2007	Banquet Dinner at the Private Dining Room of Spiaggia Banquet tickets $75 per person
December 5, 2007	Public Panel: Cosmic Cartography Journey Through the Universe

• List of Participants (PDF format)
• Conference Program (PDF format)
• Conference Abstracts (PDF format)