Europlanet Iberian Hub

The Europlanet Spain & Portugal Hub is the Iberian node of the Europlanet Society. Its main objective is to support the Spanish and Portuguese planetary science community, promoting the collaboration between all scientific and technology development institutions and research groups, reinforcing the participation of Iberian scientists and engineers in national and international space research programmes.

The Europlanet Society is an international association with the purpose of promoting planetary sciences, solar system exploration and any other related field for the benefit of the planetary science and technology development community, by encouraging the creation of new knowledge, promoting education, stimulating innovation, and enhancing accessibility and transparency. The Society is the parent body of the Europlanet Scientific Congress (EPSC), the largest annual meeting on planetary science in Europe. 

The Europlanet Spain & Portugal Hub Coordination Committee is composed by:

• Chair: A. Cardesín Moinelo (ESAC)
• Vice-Chairs: R. Hueso (UPV) / P. Machado (IA-Lisbon)
• Secretary: S. Fernández Menéndez (UniOvi)
• EPS Board Representative: J. De Leon (IAC)
• EPS Research Infr. Rep.: F. Gómez-Gómez (CAB)

• Representative Spain: P. Benavidez (UA)
• Early Career SP: D. Morate (CEFCA)
• Policy Officer SP: I. Pérez Grande & E. Díaz Catalá (AEE)
• Industry Officer SP: A. Catalán (PAE)
• Outreach & Comm. SP: J. Á. Vaquerizo (ISDEFE) 

• Representative Portugal: P. Machado (IA-Lisbon)
• Early Career PT: D. Espadinha (IA-Lisbon)
• Policy & Industry Officer PT: Marta Gonçalves (PT Space)
• Outreach & Comm. PT: Joao Retre (IA-Lisbon)

• Amateur Community : J. Álvaro (FAAE/AstroCuenca)
• Diversity Officer: L. Parro (UA) / M. Ruiz-Perez (CAB)
• Space Ethics: J. Hdez-Bernal (UPV/LMD)
• Instrumentation & Tech. Dev.: A. Moral-Inza (INTA)

• IberoAmerica: P. Benavides, A. Cardesin, R. Duffard, D. Morate 

Del 8 al 13 de septiembre - Berlín

On 15th July 2024 we organized a dedicated planetary science session, various symposia and a splinter meeting during the XVI Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society in Granada, to debate the latest news of our Spanish planetary science community.

Jordi Camarasa, a Spanish amateur astronomer, co-discovered a comet on November 5, 2023 from the remote observatory “Moonbase” located in Namibia, an observatory he shares with his Polish colleague Grzegorz Duszanowicz. Both astronomers have been collaborating together on the Comet and Neo Searching Project since 2022.

The new comet, confirmed by the Minor Planet Center, has received the designation C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz). As luck would have it, Jordi was the first to detect it and report it to the MPC, hence his name comes first in the name.

The Europlanet Iberian Hub is proud to announce the winners of the first planetary early-career prizes in Spain & Portugal: 

"Abraham Zacut" Award Best Iberian PhD Thesis in Planetary Sciences & Exploration
	Winner: Jennifer Huidobro Thesis Title: ”Exploring Martian and Lunar Geochemistry through the study of meteorites, analogs, laboratory simulation, and mission data analysis”. Directors: Juan Manuel Madariaga Mota & Julene Aramendia Gutiérrez Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU)
"Pedro Nunes" Award Best Iberian Master’s Thesis in Planetary Sciences & Exploration
	Winner: Vasco Cardoso Master's Thesis Title: "Collisional Evolution of Jupiter Trojans" Tutors: Nuno Peixinho & Paula Benavidez Universidade de Coimbra & Universidad de Alicante

These awards are named after historical astronomers from Spain and Portugal, who lived and worked in both countries, serving as role models of Iberian synergy and collaboration. Their astronomical and instrumental contributions played a key role in the maritime navigation era and enabled historical discoveries of planetary importance.

We thank all the candidates for their participation and for the high quality of the works presented in this competition, which we hope will serve as motivation for the new generation of planetary scientists and engineers in Spain and Portugal.

La Agrupación Astronómica de Sabadell organiza para el fin de semana del 14, 15 y 16 de marzo de 2025 una nueva edición de la clásica Convención de Astronomía. Instituida con periodicidad bienal desde el año 1973 solamente quedó interrumpida por la pandemia de la COVID.

En 2025 se retoma con una energía y con un gran cartel de ponencias invitadas, como se puede comprobar más abajo. Como es habitual, y dentro de todo lo que pueda dar de sí el tiempo, se tratarán todos los temas que interesan al observador actual: astronomía estelar, supernovas, exoplanetas, heliofísica, planetaria, ocultaciones, eclipses, astrofotografía, etc.

Por ello la Convención está abierta a todos, sean socios o no de la entidad. Todos podrán proponer sus comunicaciones o ponencias, que se valorarán y se aceptarán por el comité organizador.

La Conferencia inaugural, el viernes 14 de marzo será a cargo de Nanda Rea.  También participan Bray Falls, David Galadí, Juan Fabregat y Anastasia Kokori.

Las sesiones tendrán lugar en las céntricas instalaciones municipales (Ayto. Sabadell) del Casal Pere IV.

Las inscripciones, así como la recepción de ponencias, pueden realizarse a través de la web:
https://astrosabadell.org/Convencio2025/inicio.html

INSCRIPCIÓN - PROGRAMA

2024 EUROPLANET IBERIAN AMATEUR ASTRONOMY AWARD

in Solar System Astronomy and Exoplanets

The Europlanet Society, through its Spain & Portugal Regional Hub,will award an individual amateur astronomer or a team of amateurs observing from Spain & Portugal or from Spanish or Portuguese nationalities for their contribution to amateur astronomy in solar system astronomy and exoplanets in the last 3 years (2022-2024).

The prize will use the bases below:

• The prize could be awarded for an individual discovery, a set of relevant observations or with special repercussion in the field of solar system astronomy or exoplanets. The prize could also be awarded for the development of novel instrumentation techniques in the amateur world or for the development of free software wildly used in the amateur community towards analysis of solar system astronomical observations or exoplanet transit analysis. The contribution to be awarded will have to be done in the period from January 2021 to December 2024.

• Participants must be from Spanish or Portuguese nationalities or amateur observers whose contribution has been developed from Spain or Portugal. Participants do not need to be members of the Europlanet Society.

• Areas that are traditionally close to solar system astronomy and exoplanets such as observations of the Sun or stellar variability cannot be considered for the prize.

Applications will be submitted in electronic format (PDF) using the following Application form and must be limited to 2+1 pages. The application will include a presentation of the individual or observing team, a summary of its trajectory in amateur astronomy and a description of the contribution to be evaluated (2 pages). Technical information describing instrumentation or other technical details of the contribution can be included in a 3^rd page. Relevant figures can be included in the application.

Language: Applications can be written in Spanish, Portuguese or English.

● Applications must be submitted by 31 March 2025 

● The Evaluation Board will be formed by members of the Europlanet Society Spain & Portugal Regional Hub coordination committee, excluding members with possible conflicts of interest. For this prize, the committee will also invite relevant amateur astronomers and professional astronomers working with amateurs and not presenting themselves for this prize.

● The decision taken by the Evaluation Board will be final.

● Exceptionally, the Evaluation Board may decide to award more than one winner for each prize or declare the competition void or cancelled.

● Applications must fulfil all requirements to be considered for evaluation. Any non-veracity in the application would imply disqualification.

● Participation in the award implies implicit authorization for publication of the name of the participant and the summary of the contribution presented.

● The awarded contribution will have the opportunity to present its contribution to the Spanish Community of Ciencias Planetarias y Exploración del Sistema Solar (CPESS) in its regular Ciencias Planetarias y Exploración del Sistema Solar meeting in Málaga (26-30 May 2025) either online or presentially.

The Prize will consist of a diploma, a symbolic gift and an invitation to present the work to the planetary science community congress CPESS-8, with an official announcement of the Europlanet Society recognizing the value of amateur astronomy for professional astronomers and researchers in space exploration.

Application form