The second international colloquium on fundamental aspects and scientific applications of Galileo and GNSS will be held in Padua October 2009. The Aula Magna of the University, the very place where Galileo Galilei was lecturing will be the venue of this event which coincides with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei.

The colloquium will address three major areas of research:

• The fundamental aspects of navigation by satellites and Galileo: geodetic and temporal reference frames, relativistic frame, on board and ground clocks, orbits, radiation environment in orbit, inter-satellite links, fundamental aspects of propagation, tropospheric and ionospheric corrections, calibration / validation and relations with international organisations (BIPM, IGS).
• Scientific applications in meteorology, geodesy, geophysics, space physics, oceanography, land surface and ecosystem studies, using either direct or reflected signals, differential measurements, phase measurements, radio occultation measurements, using receivers placed on the ground, in airplanes or on satellites.
• Scientific developments in physics and dealing with future systems, particularly in testing fundamental laws, in astronomy, in quantum communication, and in developing clocks or experiments based on GNSS.