Astronomers to gather for UK conference
<p>Around 350 astronomers are expected to descend on St Andrews University for an international conference.</p><p>This year marks the 15th Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun conference, but will be the first time it will be held at the Scottish university and also the first time in the UK.</p><p>Delegates from 26 countries will attend the five-day conference, which will look at themes such as new discoveries and advances in astronomy, the BBC reports.</p><p>The conference is supported by the NASA Astrobiology Institute, the Royal Astronomical Society and the European Space Agency.</p><p>It will also feature a public lecture dubbed Habitable worlds: How Common Are They? by Jonathan Lunine, a planetary science professor.</p><p>Dr Moira Jardine from the School of Physics & Astronomy, who will chair the conference, said: "The award of the right to host a meeting of such a high profile is very competitive."</p><p>She added she was "proud" of the amount of top quality astronomy research that is carried out in Scotland and the UK as a whole.<br/><img alt="ADNFCR-1753-ID-18689686-ADNFCR" src="http://feeds.directnews.co.uk/feedtrack/justcopyright.gif?feedid=1753&it..." /></p>