The Origin of the Earth and Moon Conference will be held on December 1-3, 1998, in the Steinbeck Forum (lecture hall) at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California. Some activities of the conference will be held at the adjoining DoubleTree Hotel, Monterey. The conference has been scheduled just prior to the AGU Meeting in San Francisco (December 5-10) so that participants may go directly from this conference in Monterey to the AGU Meeting. Monterey is located approximately 125 miles south of San Francisco and can be quickly reached by flights between the Monterey Airport and San Francisco International Airport, or by making the two-hour drive along the coastline.

The DoubleTree Hotel and the Monterey Conference Center are housed in the same building. You can move from one location to the other through double-glass doors in the lobby of either facility. For your convenience, reduced-rate accommodations have been arranged for participants to this conference at the DoubleTree Hotel in Monterey. These arrangements and information on the hotel are discussed in detail in a later section of this announcement.

The Origin of the Earth and Moon Conference will be a three-day meeting that will focus on the earliest histories of these two bodies and the relationships between them. Recently there have been major advances in our understanding of a number of issues relevant to this theme. In order to maximize the benefit of the three days, the meeting will be largely based on discussion and we encourage all participants to bring with them succinct presentations (one or two slides or overheads) of new and especially important data to share with all those present. There will be no parallel sessions. There will be 8 invited 30-minute keynote addresses during the conference. The remainder of the material will comprise contributed short presentations and posters. The discussion leaders will play a vital role and they, along with the invited speakers, will include an array of such well-known individuals as Al Cameron, Robin Canup, Chris Chyba, Mike Drake, Günter Lugmair, Jay Melosh, Keith O'Nions, Frank Podosek, Everett Shock, Sean Solomon, Ross Taylor, Jerry Wasserburg, and George Wetherill.

The topics that will form the basis for most of the discussion will be as follows:

		Accretion:   comparisons with other stars, loss of volatiles in the inner solar system, accretionary rates, and the thermal development of planets
		Timing:   timing of accretion of the Earth and Moon system within the context of inner solar system development
		Giant impact theory:   dynamic simulations of the giant impact, the composition of the Earth and Moon, and problems with the giant impact theory, as well as alternatives
		Magma oceans on the Earth and Moon:   physical properties of magma oceans, core formation mechanisms, and the nature of the late veneer
		Outgassing:   early atmospheres, noble gases, hydrodynamic escape, and later additions, including the acquisition of water
		Conditions on the earliest Earth and Moon:   low luminosity early Sun, bombardment, stabilization of crust, tectonics, and mantle dynamics
		Life:   introduction and/or synthesis of amino acids, organic and molecular evolution in the Hadean Earth

Researchers in all appropriate disciplines are encouraged to submit abstracts that are relevant to these themes. Please indicate on the abstract submission form whether you wish to make an oral presentation, poster presentation, or simply have the abstract included in the volume. However, the Program Committee will have to decide on which abstracts would be best presented orally. The time for these will vary but be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes each. A preliminary program will be included in the final announcement to be mailed in late September. Author notification letters will also be mailed at that time to advise authors of the time and method chosen for their presentations. Authors with any special audio-visual requirements (other than dual-screen slide or overhead projection) should indicate their needs on the abstract submission form.

Contributed abstracts should be no longer than one page, including graphics, tables, and references. (Abstracts from invited speakers may be up to two pages long.) Please read the complete instructions for preparing and submitting abstracts. Abstracts will be published as a volume that will be part of the registration package at the meeting. In addition, the preliminary program and abstracts will be placed on line by October 2, 1998. Abstracts will be in PDF format, viewable with version 3 of the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded free of charge from the Adobe home page.

The deadline for RECEIPT of electronic abstracts is 5:00 p.m. CDT, September 4, 1998. Abstracts can be submitted in any of the following formats: Microsoft Word 6, 7, or 8 for PC; Microsoft Word 5 or 6 for Mac; and Rich Text Format (RTF). Postscript files will be accepted only from authors who CANNOT submit files in one of the other formats listed, and those authors will be contacted to provide the text of their abstract so it doesn't have to be reinput for production of the volume. Templates and detailed instructions for formatting and submitting your abstract are provided.

Note: The electronic abstract submission form is only supported by Netscape Navigator (version 2.0 or higher) and Internet Explorer (version 4.0 ONLY). If you are using any other browser, you will not be able to electronically submit your abstract. Please contact your systems administrator for assistance in downloading and installing one of these browsers on your machine.

Warning: Electronic transmission of files is not always instantaneous; gateways can temporarily be shut down, local routers can fail, network traffic can be very heavy, etc. Because your abstract file must be RECEIVED at the LPI by 5:00 p.m. CDT, it is in your best interest to submit early to allow for possible delays in transmission. The server will be VERY busy on the day of the deadline. DO NOT wait until the last minute to access the system; access to the Web form will TERMINATE at 5:00 p.m. CDT.

A limited number of student grants are available to assist students involved in research related to the scientific focus of this conference. Students who want to attend the conference, but need some financial assistance with travel expenses, should complete and sign the student application form, have their advisor sign it, and return it to the LPI no later than August 14, 1998. Two students are needed to assist the projectionist during the conference technical sessions. Please indicate on your application form if you are willing to help in this manner. Increased financial assistance may be available to the students who volunteer to help with projection of visual aids during the meeting.

PREREGISTRATION
The preregistration fee is $260 for professionals, $180 for students, and $150 for guests. Members of the press will not be charged a fee. The deadline for registering at this rate is October 30, 1998. Starting October 31, all registrations will be assessed a $20 late charge. The professional and student fees include three group lunches on Tuesday through Thursday as well as the other social events and the facility and equipment costs for on-site conference support. The guest fee is intended for people who are accompanying a participant to the meeting location (spouse, other family member, or friend) and may want to attend the group lunches and social events, but will not be attending all, or presenting at, the technical sessions.

The downloadable preregistration form must be accompanied by your payment. Foreign participants who state on the preregistration form that they have a currency exchange problem may pay in cash at the meeting and avoid the $20 late fee if they return the form by the October 31 preregistration deadline. Participants registering by credit card may use the electronic preregistration form.

Note: Cancellations with requests for refunds will be accepted only through November 20.

ON-SITE REGISTRATION
Walk-in registration will be allowed at the fees shown above, plus the $20 late charge. Registration will be held beginning on Monday evening, November 30, in the Portola Room just off the main lobby of the DoubleTree Hotel from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (The welcome party will be held at the same time and location.) Registration will continue the following morning at 7:30 a.m. in the Steinbeck Lobby of the Monterey Conference Center and will be available throughout the entire conference. A continental breakfast will be served in the Steinbeck Lobby from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning during registration and again on Wednesday and Thursday from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m.

A "Welcome Party" will be held Monday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Portola Room of the DoubleTree Hotel during early registration. Participants are encouraged to take this opportunity to meet old and new friends in a relaxed environment and to register at this time rather than the following morning just prior to the technical sessions. The Portola Room is located just off the main hotel lobby near the hotel registration desk. On Tuesday, immediately following the afternoon session, conference participants and their guests are invited to enjoy a reception in the Steinbeck Lobby of the Monterey Conference Center.

A special group rate of $114 for single or double occupancy has been negotiated at the DoubleTree Hotel, Monterey, for conference participants. There is a $20 charge for each additional person per night. Children under the age of 18 who stay in the same room are free; there is a $20 fee per night for rollaways and cribs. To obtain this special rate you must identify yourself as a participant of the "Origin of the Earth and Moon Conference" when you make your reservations. The deadline for reservations at the group rate is November 1, 1998. After November 1, rooms will be made available on an "as-available" basis at the standard rates of $140 to $245.

Self-parking at the hotel has been arranged for our group at a special rate of $7 per day; valet parking is $12 per 24-hour stay. Both rates include "in and out" privileges without additional charge. If you use self-parking, please check your hotel invoice to be certain that you have been given the $7 reduced group rate (standard daily rates are $10).

To make your reservations, you may call the hotel at 408-649-4511, send a fax to 408-649-4115, or send a written request by mail to the DoubleTree Hotel, Monterey, Two Portola Plaza, Monterey CA 93940.

Rental cars are not necessary for conference participants. Taxi service is available from Monterey Airport for approximately $10 each way. The hotel has a small shopping mall on the premises, and many restaurants, historic sites, and other visitor attractions are within walking distance. Fisherman's Wharf on Monterey Bay is located down a convenient walkway that leads from the hotel courtyard. The hotel is adjacent to the new Monterey Maritime Museum and within walking distance of Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Conference participants will have several options for reaching the meeting location in Monterey, California. You can book a flight into the Monterey Airport. The DoubleTree Hotel and Monterey Conference Center are 5 minutes from the local airport. Rental cars or taxi service are available at the Monterey Airport by several national car rental companies and local transportation services. You can also book a flight into San Jose Airport and drive 60 miles south to Monterey. Those attending the AGU Meeting may prefer to fly to Monterey via San Francisco and return there for the AGU Meeting. The drive from San Francisco to Monterey takes about two hours (about 125 miles). Near Monterey to the south are Carmel, the 17-mile scenic drive by Pebble Beach, etc., and between Monterey and San Francisco to the north are beautiful coastline drives and scenic mountain highways, including a redwood forest with trails open to the public, so that the short time between our conference and the AGU Meeting could provide an opportunity to relax and tour the area.

Additional information and a map of the local area will be included in the final announcement, to be mailed in late September.

August 28, 1998		Deadline for hard-copy abstracts
September 4, 1998		Deadline for electronic abstracts
September 28, 1998		Final announcement mailed
October 30, 1998		Preregistration deadline
December 1-3, 1998		Origin of the Earth and Moon Conference
January 31, 1999		Deadline for receipt of manuscripts for the book The Origin of the Earth and Moon

Alan P. Boss    Carnegie Institution of Washington		Everett Shock    Washington University
A. G. W. Cameron    Harvard College Observatory		David J. Stevenson    California Institute of Technology
John H. Jones    NASA Johnson Space Center		G. Jeffrey Taylor    University of Hawai'i
H. Jay Melosh    University of Arizona		S. Ross Taylor    Australian National University
R. Keith O'Nions    Oxford University

LeBecca Simmons
Lunar and Planetary Institute
3600 Bay Area Boulevard
Houston TX 77058-1113
Phone: 281-486-2158
Fax: 281-486-2160
simmons@lpi.usra.edu

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