Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics 9 June to 6 July 2007, Castel Gandolfo, Rome, Italy

	Dante Minniti (Chair) Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Santiago, Chile José Funes, S.J. (Dean) Vatican Observatory George V. Coyne, S.J. (Director) Vatican Observatory France Allard Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, Lyon, France Fernando Comeron European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany Didier Queloz Geneva Observatory, Sauverny, Switzerland The regular faculty will be assisted by other senior scientists in residence.
	The Vatican Observatory is pleased to announce the 2007 Summer School in Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics, on Extrasolar Planets and Brown Dwarfs. Two lectures will be given each morning, with evening seminars by the Vatican staff and visiting astronomers. During the course of the school, students will also present a short paper on their research or the research of their home institution. Other activities will include laboratory exercises, use of the Observatory computers for data reduction and image processing, and use of astronomical databases. There will also be opportunities for observations with on-site 40 cm refractor and 60 cm reflector telescopes. Field trips to visit sites of historical interest to astronomy will be included. In addition to the principal topics presented by the invited faculty, students will have the opportunity to discuss their own research with members of the faculty and with the observatory staff. No formal course credits will be given, but certification of satisfactory completion of the course will be supplied.
	Extrasolar Planetary Searches: Radial velocities, transits, microlensing, timing, astrometry, other search techniques. Extrasolar Planets: Current statistics, sample biases, distributions of masses, periods and eccentricities. New planetary systems and latest discoveries. Formation and evolution of planetary systems. Brown dwarfs: all-sky searches, frequency, mass function, binarity, classification, variability, and characterizations. Theory: Formation of brown dwarfs and planets, models of atmospheres, internal structure, and evolutionary models. Future developments and opportunities.
	Name Country Gender Michele Bannister New Zealand F Jeanette Bast Sweden F Sarah Bryan South Africa F Sarah Calbio Trinidad & Tobago F Michele Cappetta Italy M Carolina Chavero Argentina F Lin Chien-Cheng Taiwan M Nathan Deg Canada M Maria Duplantic Videla Argentina F Nestor Espino Briones Mexico M Lucy Frey USA F Lisseth Gavilan Peru F Satenik Ghazarjan Armenia F Fabiola Hernandez Perez Venezuela F Tijl Kindt Belgium M Tereza Krejcova Czech Rep. F Juan Marrufo del Toro, S.J. Mexico M Sofia Meneses-Goytia Mexico F Eva Meyer Germany F Zhao Xiang Qi China M Roberto Saito Brazil M Ratna Satyaningsih Indonesia F Joanna Skilton UK F Peter Veres Slovakia M Alexandre Zabot Brazil M Olga Zakhozhay Ukraine F Robert Zellem USA M