The 2017 IMC, which will be held on September 21-24 in Petnica, Serbia, is not too far away any more and – if you have not done yet – it is time to prepare for it.
Over the years, the IMCs have evolved quite a bit. On several occasions in the past the participants brought their presentations or material with them and the program was established on site. While this was very flexible, the participants did not know what to expect when they registered. Now the program is well prepared in advance and the level of the presentations certainly is higher – including the fact that the threshold to give a talk at the IMC is also higher.
During the 2015 IMC in Mistelbach, some participants mentioned that some more general talks on meteor astronomy in the program could be helpful. Usually, newcomers start in local groups where they get contact, motivation, and information in their mother tongue. Interested people then go further and at some point attend their first IMC. I think that we need to ensure that the gap between the introductory period (“at home”) and the time for producing own new results which are presented at an IMC does not become too big. So I would like to encourage all interested amateur or professional meteor enthusiasts to attend the IMC, with own contributions, or to become inspired to start new projects, or contribute to running programs, or to be curious and ask questions. Since we are all learning from each other and the IMC audiences were always interested in various presented aspects, I can only recommend to bring your results and present them at the IMC.
Keep in mind that the early-bird deadline is on June 30, but of course, you can still register after that date. Details including the registration form and the preliminary list of participants can be found on the IMC 2017 website.
See you in Petnica at the IMC 2017!
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