Binary Stars in the Space Era
Astrophysics Conference at Keele Hall, Keele University, UK
Tuesday 1st to Friday 4th July, 2025
Rationale
The study of binary stars is one of the oldest areas of astrophysics. Results from binary stars are fundamental to our understanding of how stars form and evolve, galactic stellar populations, chemical evolution, and the cosmological distance scale. Wide binaries allow us to probe the properties of normal stars, including direct measurements of their masses. Eclipsing binaries are the only stars whose masses and radii can be measured to high precision. Close binaries can be used to study the physics of mass transfer, mass loss, accretion discs and how stars evolve. Binary star evolution is critical to the formation of cataclysmic variables, novae, supernovae, X-ray binaries, millisecond pulsars, gamma-ray bursts and gravitational wave events. Planets are found in binary star systems in both S-type and P-type orbits.
We are now firmly in the space-photometry era, with observations of binary stars available from the WIRE, MOST, BRITE, CoRoT, Kepler, TESS and CHEOPS satellites. In the near future PLATO will offer another leap forward in the quality of photometric data, and binary stars will in turn provide crucial information for the interpretation of the many planetary systems it will find. What legacy of achievements can we attribute to the study of binary systems? What is the current state of this area of astrophysics? What problems are still to be solved? How can we further improve our understanding of normal stars? What new analyses are now possible with Kepler, TESS and CHEOPS data? What more will PLATO allow us to do? How should we prepare? The aim of this conference is to bring together observational and theoretical astrophysicists to critique the past, understand the present, and organise the future of binary star research.
Code of Conduct
We value the participation of everyone at this meeting and want all attendees to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. Accordingly, all attendees are expected to show respect and courtesy to other attendees and staff.
As such, Keele University will be a harassment-free environment for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, nationality, religion. We do not tolerate harassment of attendees in any form.
- Speakers give their time freely, many have travelled a considerable distance, some are very distinguished, some are early career scientists perhaps giving a presentation at this level for the first time, and all deserve a fair and encouraging hearing. Please try to be on time for the start of a session, or otherwise slip quietly into the lecture hall, refrain from loud conversations outside the doors, switch off mobile phones, and if you must use a laptop computer do so inconspicuously.
- Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.
- All communication given by speakers, organisers and attendees should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. Sexual language, jokes and imagery is not appropriate for any event.
- Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees.
- Respect Keele University staff.
- Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate.
Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately. Attendees violating these rules may be asked to leave the event, without a refund of any charge that may have been levied.
Thank you for helping make this a welcoming, respectful space for all.
This is a modified version of the code of conduct from the Royal Astronomical Society and we are grateful to them for making it available.
Location
The conference will be held at Keele Hall on the campus of Keele University. The conference sessions and conference dinner will be in the Salvin Room, the refreshments and posters will be in the Old Library, lunches will be in the Great Hall, and breakfasts are provisionally expected to be in the Chancellors building. A little information on Keele Hall can be found in its wikipedia entry.
Information on how to get to the campus of Keele University can be found on the university travel page and on the Keele Conferences travel page. The closest large airports are Manchester and Birmingham, both of which have rail links to the train stations at Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent.
Warning: the UK has just implemented an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme. Most conference attendees from outside the UK will need to obtain one of these (cost £10) or may be refused entry to the UK. Please check carefully whether this applies to you, and get your ETA if needed.
More photos of the venue will be available shortly.
Please note that Keele Hall has become a cashless venue. Any payments (e.g. for alcoholic drinks) must be done by card.
A printable map of Keele campus can be found here. Keele Hall is building 12 (towards the top left of the map).
Accommodation
Standard accommodation will be en-suite rooms in one of the student accommodation blocks on campus. It will provisionally be in Barnes Halls, and final confirmation will be provided once the number of rooms required for the conference is known. Check-in will be from 16:00 and check-out by 09:30. Please declare on the registration form if you need a disabled room. Our supplier needs this information in advance to ensure a suitable room can be provided.
Attendees can instead opt for the Courtyard Hotel By Marriott on campus (building 53 on the campus map). To take this option, please register for the conference attendance package (not the full package) and arrange your stay with the Marriott Hotel yourself.
A third alternative for accommodation is to stay in Newcastle-under-Lyme, which is a 15-minute bus ride away. We do not recommend this option as it is much less convenient, but make it available in case it is useful. The Travelodge hotel is close to the bus route (First Bus route 25).
People wishing to stay extra night(s) before or after the conference can book into the Marriott hotel. This is because the standard accommodation has been allocated only for the duration of the conference.
Sessions
The intended sessions are:
- Space photometry
- Modelling binary systems
- Spectroscopic binaries
- Astrometric binaries / Gaia
- Pulsations in binaries (observations)
- Pulsations in binaries (theory and modelling)
- Benchmark binaries
- Binaries and planets
- Interacting binaries and mergers
- Binary formation
- Binary evolution
- Binary populations
- Comparison to theoretical models
- Looking forward to PLATO
Full programme
The full conference programme will be placed here. It will be available once registration has closed and the schedule of invited and contributed talks has been defined.
The following evening activities will occur: welcome reception on Monday night, (provisional) visit to Keele Observatory (building 42 on the campus map) on Tuesday or Wednesday, and the conference dinner on Thursday.
Here is the intended schedule for each day:
| Time | Activity | Venue |
| 08:00 to 09:00 | Breakfast | tbc |
| 09:00 to 10:35 | Session 1 | Salvin Room |
| 10:30 to 11:15 | Refreshments | Old Library |
| 11:15 to 12:50 | Session 2 | Salvin Room |
| 12:45 to 14:00 | Lunch | Old Library |
| 14:00 to 15:35 | Session 3 | Salvin Room |
| 15:30 to 16:15 | Refreshments | Old Library |
| 16:15 to 17:50 | Session 3 | Salvin Room |
| 19:00 to 20:30 | Dinner | Salvin Room |
Invited speakers
The current list of invited speakers is:
- Poojan Agrawal (Leuven, Belgium)
- Dominic Bowman (Newcastle, UK)
- Paul Clark (Cardiff, UK)
- Dariusz Graczyk (CAMK, Toruń, Poland)
- Kelly Hambleton Prša (Villanova, US)
- Cole Johnston (Surrey, UK)
- Krzysztof Hełminiak (NCAC, Toruń, Poland)
- Pierre Kervella (Paris, France)
- Nikki Miller (Uppsala, Sweden)
- Maxwell Moe (Wyoming, US)
- Andrej Prša (Villanova, US)
- John Southworth (Keele, UK)
- Elizabeth Stanway (Warwick, UK)
- Andrew Tkachenko (Leuven, Belgium)
Registration
We will set up a registration and payments page shortly. It will include the opportunity to submit an abstract for a contributed talk or poster. The deadline for registration and payment is 31st March 2025.
The conference will last from Monday evening to Friday lunchtime, to allow many attendees to fit the conference and travel within one working week. Accommodation and food will be provided within the cost of the registration fee.
Full package: £750. This includes conference registration, accommodation (four nights, Monday to Friday), opening reception buffet (Monday night), breakfast (Tuesday to Friday), lunch (Tuesday to Friday), dinner (Tuesday and Wednesday), the conference dinner (Thursday), and morning and afternoon refreshments.
Attendance package: £450. This is like the full package but without accommodation and breakfast.
Early-career researchers: we aim to obtain additional funding to lower the cost for PhD students, but will have to do this after the first formal announcement of the conference so cannot commit to anything yet.
The number of participants is limited to 90 due to the capacity of the Salvin Room. We ask you to register promptly to help us manage the numbers, and to avoid finding yourself on the waiting list.
Please declare any physical disabilities or food allergies on the registration form. Our accommodation and catering contacts require this information in advance.
SOC and LOC
Scientific Organising Committee (SOC)
- John Southworth (Keele University, UK)
- Conny Aerts (KU Leuven, Belgium)
- Jan Eldridge (University of Auckland, NZ)
- Kareem El-Badry (California Institute of Technology, US)
- Pierre Maxted (Keele University, UK)
- Nikki Miller (University of Uppsala, Sweden)
Local Organising Committee (LOC)
- Pierre Maxted (Keele University, UK)
- John Southworth (Keele University, UK)
- Barry Smalley (Keele University, UK)
- Ayush Moharana (Keele University, UK)
- Steve Overall (Keele University, UK)
- Lex Griffiths (Keele University, UK)
Contact us
Conference email address: spacebinary2025@gmail.com
Conference Slack channel: https://binarystarswi-omr4237.slack.com/
| Dr John Taylor (Southworth) |
Dr Pierre Maxted Astrophysics Group Room LJ 2.06 Lennard Jones Building Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK |