_                   
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      V   V   SSSS   OOO   PPPP                 \__      |_|      __/         
      V   V  S      O   O  P   P                   --____/ \____--            
      V   V   SSS   O   O  PPPP                    _ _ _ --- _ _ _            
       V V       S  O   O  P                      |_|_|_|  @|_|_|_|           
        V    SSSS    OOO   P                             o-o                  
                                                          /                   
      ***  N    E    W    S  ***                        <)                    

PUBLICATIONS

The contents of the VSOP Symposium proceedings, "Astrophysical Phenomena Revealed by Space VLBI", have been added to the Literature page on the VSOP web site. The proceedings should be received from the printers next week.

As mentioned in VSOP news 107, a special edition of Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan is planned to highlight VSOP results. An overview of the mission and satellite will be followed by a number of papers describing previously unpublished VSOP results. Manuscripts (prepared using the PASJ template, available from http://www.tenmon.or.jp/pasj/index-e.shtml) should be ready for submission by early July to accommodate refereeing and any revision in time for publication before the end of the year. Those interested in contributing to this special issue are encouraged to contact Inoue-san at their soonest convenience.

CONFERENCES

The 5th European VLBI Network Symposium on New Developments in VLBI Science and Technology will be held from June 29-July 1, 2000 at the Onsala Space Observatory -- more details at http://www.oso.chalmers.se/evnsymposium. IAU Symposium 205 "Galaxies and their constituents at the highest angular resolutions" will be held from August 15-18, 2000 in Manchester as part of the IAU General Assembly -- further information can be found on the symposium website http://www.jive.nl/iausymp.htm. These two meetings will include invited talks from the VSOP Project Scientist, Prof. H. Hirabayashi.

An international conference, "Cosmic Masers: From Protostars to Black Holes", will be held at Angra dos Reis Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from March 5-11, 2001 -- additional details are available from http://lynx.ccne.ufsm.br.

SPRING

Two of Japan's most famous images are Mt Fuji and cherry blossoms, and this week has seen the cherry blossoms in full bloom around Tokyo, and a Japanese volcano making the headlines! The volcano in this case is Mt Usu in Hokkaido, which sprang to life after 23 years of inactivity. Many people have been evacuated from towns in the vicinity of the volcano and it is feared a major eruption may not be far off. The first week of April is also the start of a new fiscal year, which brings its own relocations and staffing changes throughout Japan. The VSOP team at ISAS has been strengthened with the appointment of Yoshiharu Asaki to a permanent staff position, and the award of a post-doctoral fellowship to Kiyoaki Wajima, who completed his PhD earlier this year.

                Editors: Phil Edwards and Hirax Hirabayashi