The first scientific conference dedicated to the Athena X-ray observatory

The first scientific conference dedicated to the Athena X-ray observatory was held at ESA/ESAC (near Madrid, Spain) between the 8th and the 10th of September of 2015.

There were 205 participants from 26 different countries all over the world: Austria, Belgium, Brasil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Switzerland, Taiwan and Turkey.

The scientific content was delivered in 48 talks, of which 10 were about Athena as a mission, 25 about the core science that drives the design of the Athena mission (The Hot and Energetic Universe: the assembly and physics of the largest structures in the Universe, the warm-hot intergalactic medium, the build-up of supermassive black holes and galaxies and their interplay), 6 more about other Astrophysical topics which will be profoundly affected by Athena's capabilities ("Observatory science": solar system, young and old stars, compact objects, supernova remnants...), and 7 further ones about the strong synergies of Athena with other contemporary observatories all over the electromagnetic spectrum (and beyond). This wide variety of subjects is reflected in the 45 posters presented.

The list of participants, the electronic abstract booklet and the contents of most talks and posters can be found in the web page of the conference.

The declared purpose of the conference was "to gather together all members of the astronomical community who have an interest in Athena. The main focus of the meeting will be to discuss the key science questions which will be addressed by the mission". These aims were clearly achieved, attending to the figures above.

In addition, several informal meetings of various Athena Science Study Team (ASST) Topical Panels took place during coffee and lunch breaks, to meet in person and let the members know of the on-going activities. Assisting the ASST and the Science Working Groups and TP chairs in the essential task of engaging the community and tapping its expertise is one of the main purpose of the Athena Community Office.