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IAU Symposium 405

Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time

Brno, Czech Republic
May 18-22, 2026

Image: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al. Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT

IAU Symposium 405

Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time

Brno, Czech Republic
May 18-22, 2026

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Spitzer Science Center/Caltech)

IAU Symposium 405

Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time

Brno, Czech Republic
May 18-22, 2026

Image: ESO/S. Gillessen et al.

IAU Symposium 405

Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time

Brno, Czech Republic
May 18-22, 2026

Image: Pavel Gabzdyl (Astronomy Picture of the Day, 07/19/24)

IAU Symposium 405

Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time

Brno, Czech Republic
May 18-22, 2026

Image: EHT Collaboration

IAU Symposium 405

Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time

Brno, Czech Republic
May 18-22, 2026

Image: Petr Horálek (Astronomy Picture of the Day, 09/16/2016)

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Promotional logo for this event titled "Traversing the Galactic Center" held in Brno, Czech Republic. The foreground is an artistic illustration of the planetarium, and the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Brno. The background shows the milky way, with a polarised image of Sgr A* superimposed on top of it.

The Galactic Center (GC) plays a pivotal role in the evolution of the Milky Way. It is instrumental in mapping and understanding the central regions of quiescent galaxies since it is the closest galactic nucleus to us. It serves as a unique test bed for both stellar dynamics in an extremely dense environment as well as magnetohydrodynamics in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). It is fundamental for studying star formation, because the conditions of its interstellar medium (magnetic fields, temperature, turbulence) are unlike any other place in the Milky Way. Despite many detailed multiwavelength studies of the central regions of our Galaxy, we still have many open questions concerning its history and future evolution.

This symposium will bring together experts working on both observational and theoretical studies of the Galactic Center so that they can “traverse” this exciting region from Sgr A* and the surrounding dense nuclear star cluster to the central molecular zone and back, covering about eight orders of magnitude in spatial length. Looking at the Galactic nucleus from this vantage point will uncover details of its past processes and potential future.
We will explore the remarkable progress made since the last major meeting of the community—the Galactic Center Workshop in Granada (April 24–28, 2023).

We will examine exciting new results, including those from JWST, GRAVITY/ERIS at the VLT, Keck telescopes, X-ray telescopes (Chandra, XMM-Newton, IXPE, XRISM) as well as insights from ALMA and MeerKAT. Given the increasing importance of multi-messenger astronomy (gravitational waves, cosmic rays, neutrinos), we will dedicate more attention to these observations and related results. 

Key Topics

  • Sgr A*: new results from radio and infrared interferometry with the EHT and GRAVITY/VLTI, respectively; detections and predictions of relativistic effects in the Galactic Center; high-energy phenomena; multi-wavelength and multi-messenger physics; accretion and ejection of matter; past activity of Sgr A*.
  • Stellar dynamics and population in the central parsec: stellar dynamics; star formation; binary and multiple stars; interstellar matter in the central parsec and its interaction with stars and Sgr A*; unidentified and rare sources (dusty objects, X-ray binaries, stellar remnants).
  • Nuclear Stellar Cluster (NSC) and Nuclear Stellar Disc (NSD): structure and stellar populations; formation history; interactions between gas and stars; kinematics and dynamics; existence or not of a stellar cusp of old stars; variable stars.
  • Star formation in the GC: observations and models; initial mass function; efficiency of star formation in the GC.
  • Central Molecular Zone (CMZ): stellar and gas dynamics; star formation; astrochemistry in the CMZ; feeding and feedback mechanisms; magnetic fields; comparison to CMZs in nearby galaxies.
  • Comparison between our GC and nearby nuclei; past activity of Sgr A*: Is the GC a good analogue for the nuclei of similar galaxies? What differences are there in terms of central black holes and their activity as well as concerning nuclear stellar clusters and discs? How can we explain any differences? Is the GC a good analogue for a high-z star forming region? What is the driving force of the observed outflow from the GC—is it star formation or recurrent AGN activity?

Email

info.gc2026@muni.cz

Scientific Organizing Committee 

Michal Zajaček, Masaryk University, Czechia (chair)
Rainer Schödel, Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain (co-chair)
 
Roland Crocker, Australian National University, Australia
Bożena Czerny, Center for Theoretical Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
Soňa Ehlerová, Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Astronomical Society
Anja Feldmeier-Krause, University of Vienna, Austria
Reinhard Genzel, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Germany
Andrea Ghez, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Izaskun Jiménez Serra, Center of Astrobiology, Spain
Cornelia Lang, University of Iowa, USA
Sera Markoff, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Smadar Naoz, UCLA, USA
Nadine Neumayer, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Germany
Tomoharu Oka, Keio University, Japan
Florian Peißker, University of Cologne, Germany
Bart Ripperda, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Canada

Local Organizing Committee 

Michal Zajaček, Masaryk University, Czechia (chair)
Tereza Jeřábková, Masaryk University, Czechia (co-chair)
Vladimír Karas, Astronomical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences (co-chair)
Petra Suková, Astronomical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences (co-chair)
 
Henry Best, Masaryk University, Czechia
Jiří Dušek, Brno Observatory and Planetarium, Czechia
Izzy Garland, Masaryk University, Czechia
Václav Glos, Masaryk University, Czechia (PR)
Maitrayee Gupta, Astronomical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences
Jan Janík, Masaryk University, Czechia
Zuzana Kuljovská, Brno Observatory and Planetarium, Czechia
Petr Kurfürst, Masaryk University, Czechia
Matúš Labaj, Masaryk University, Czechia
Marko Mesarč, Brno Observatory and Planetarium, Czechia
Zdeněk Mikulášek, Masaryk University, Czechia
Tomáš Ondro, Mendel University, Czechia
Václav Pavlík, Astronomical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences (GC Newsletter, editor-in-chief)
Tomáš Plšek, Masaryk University, Czechia
Monika Viskotová, Masaryk University, Czechia 
Dominik Alvaro Rada, Masaryk University, Czechia (website)
Lýdia Štofanová, Masaryk University/Czech Aerospace Research Center, Czechia
Norbert Werner, Masaryk University, Czechia
Miloslav Zejda, Masaryk University, Czechia
Promotional graphic for the IAU Symposium 405 titled "Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time," taking place in Brno, Czech Republic from May 18-22, 2026. The image features a dark starry background with a circular graphic element depicting a black hole and a building resembling a cathedral. Logos of the IAU, Brno Observatory and Planetarium, and MUNI are also included.

GC News

History and Legacy of Galactic Center Workshops

The Symposium of the International Astronomical Union (IAUS 405) Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time builds upon the series of previous regular conferences focused on the center of the Milky Way that are known as Galactic Center (GC) Workshops in the community. They have been taking place every 3-4 years since 1980s. The first conference (Workshop on the Galactic Center) was organized on January 7-8 in 1982 at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, where 92 participants took part. In subsequent years, the GC workshop was organized all over the world, including the places such as Los Angeles, La Serena, Kyoto, Tucson, Hawai'i, Shanghai, Santa Fe, Cairns, Yokohama, and Granada. We are proud to host the upcoming "GC workshop" in Brno, Czech Republic, the birthplace of such personalities as Ernst Mach and Kurt Gödel and the place where Gregor Johann Mendel laid the foundations of genetics. Below we provide the list of previous GC workshops kindly compiled and provided by Mark Morris.

Galactic Center Conferences and Workshops, 1982 – 2026

  1. 1982 January 7 & 8: Workshop on the Galactic Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, published as AIP Conf. Proc. #83, Guenter R. Riegler & Roger D. Blandford, editors, 92 listed participants, 216 pages
  2. 1986 October 26: The Galactic Center, University of California, Berkeley, published as AIP Conf. Proc. #155: The Galactic Center: Proceedings of the Symposium Honoring C.H. Townes, 1987, Donald C. Backer, editor, 204 pages
  3. 1988 July 25 – 29: IAU Symposium #136: The Center of the Galaxy, University of California, Los Angeles, published as Proceedings of IAU Symposium #136: The Center of the Galaxy, 1989, Mark Morris, editor, 661 pages
  4. 1993 July 26 – 30: The Nuclei of Normal Galaxies: Lessons from the Galactic Center, a NATO Advanced Study Institute at the Schlob Ringberg retreat of the Max Planck Society, Germany, published as NATO ASI Series C: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, volume 445: The Nuclei of Normal Galaxies: Lessons from the Galactic Center, 1994,
    Genzel and A.I. Harris, editors, 499 pages
  5. 1996 March 10 – 15: The Galactic Center – 4th ESO/CTIO Workshop, La Serena, Chile, published as Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Volume 102: The Galactic Center – 4th ESO/CTIO Workshop, 1996, Roland Gredel, editor, 514 pages,
    114 listed participants
  6. 1997 August 18 – 22: IAU Symposium #184: The Central Regions of the Galaxy and Galaxies, Kyoto, Japan, published as Proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 184: The Central Region of the Galaxy and Galaxies, 1998, Yoshiaki Sofue, editor, 521 pages,
    267 listed participants
  7. 1998 September 7 – 11: The Central Parsecs of the Galaxy, Tucson, Arizona, USA, published as Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, volume 186: The Central Parsecs of the Galaxy, 1999, Heino Falcke, Angela Cotera, Wolfgang J. Duschl, Fulvio Melia, & Marcia Rieke, editors, 623 pages, 61 listed participants
  8. 2002 November 3 – 8: Galactic Center Workshop 2002 – The Central 300 Parsecs of the Milky Way, Ohana Keauhou Beach Resort, Kona, Hawai’i, published as Astronomische Nachrichten, Supplementary Issue 1/2003: Proceedings of the Galactic Center Workshop 2002; The Central 300 Parsecs of the Milky Way, 2004, A. Cotera, S. Markoff, T.R. Geballe & H. Falcke, editors, 634 pages
  9. 2006 April 18 – 22: Galactic Center Workshop 2006 – From the Center of the Milky Way to Nearby Low-Luminosity Galactic Nuclei, Physikzentrum Bad Honnef, Germany, published as Journal of Physics Conference Series, volume 54: Galactic Center Workshop 2006 – From the Center of the Milky Way to Nearby Low-Luminosity Galactic Nuclei, 2006, Rainer Schödel, Geoffrey C. Bower, Michael P. Muno, Sergei Nayakshin & Thomas Ott, editors, 480 pages
  10. 2009 October 19 – 23: The Galactic Center: A Window to the Nuclear Environment of Disk Galaxies, Shanghai, China, published as Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Volume 439 – The Galactic Center: A Window to the Nuclear Environment of Disk Galaxies, 2011, Mark R. Morris, Q. Daniel Wang & Feng Yuan, editors, 494 pages, 132 listed participants
  11. 2013 September 30 – October 4: IAU Symposium 303: The Galactic Center: Feeding and Feedback in a Normal Galactic Nucleus, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, published as Proceedings of IAU Symposium 303 – The Galactic Center: Feeding and Feedback in a Normal Galactic Nucleus, 2014, Loránt Sjouwerman, Cornelia C. Lang & Jürgen Ott, editors, 470 pages, 162 listed participants. https://science.nrao.edu/science/meetings/IAU303-GC2013
  12. 2016 July 18 – 22: IAU Symposium 322: The Multi-Messenger Astrophysics of the Galactic Center, Queensland, Australia, published as Proceedings of IAU Symposium 322 – The Multi-Messenger Astrophysics of the Galactic Center, 2017, Roland M. Crocker, Steven N. Longmore & Geoffrey V. Bicknell, editors, 261 pages, 112 listed attendees
  13. 2019 October 21 – 24: Galactic Center Workshop 2019 – New Horizons in Galactic Center Astronomy and Beyond, Keio University, Yokohama Japan, published as Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Volume 528 – Galactic Center Workshop 2019 – New Horizons in Galactic Center Astronomy and Beyond, 2020, Masato Tsuboi & Tomoharu Oka, editors, 462 pages, 138 listed participants.
    http://aysheaia.phys.keio.ac.jp/GCWS2019/index.html
  14. 2023 April 24 – 28: Galactic Center Workshop, Granada, Spain, SOC: Rainer Schödel (chair), Zhen Cao, Vitor Cardoso, Maïca Clavel, Frank Eisenhauer, José Luis Gómez, Jonathan Henshaw, Cornelia Lang, Steve Longmore, Michela Mapelli, Sera Markoff, Smadar Naoz, Nadine Neumayer, Masayoshi Nobukawa Nara, Tomoharu Oka, and Subhashis Roy, abstracts and talk slides available at the conference website: https://www.granadacongresos.com/gcw2023
  15. 2026 May 18 – 22: IAU Symposium 405: Traversing the Galactic Center in Space and Time, Brno, Czech Republic, in preparation https://gc2026.muni.cz/

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