The 22nd International EISCAT Symposium and 49th Annual European Meeting on Atmospheric Studies by Optical Methods (49AM) will be hosted jointly by EISCAT and the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) at Space Campus in Kiruna, Sweden.
Location: Space Campus, Kiruna, Sweden
Date: 24th – 28th August 2026
50 Years of EISCAT
The EISCAT Scientific Association was created 1st January 1976. We will take the opportunity of the upcoming Symposium to celebrate 50 years of EISCAT with a dedicated Session and a Banquet.
Registration and Abstract Submission
Registration and abstract submission will open late-February 2026.
There are a limited number of places available. Please register as soon as possible.
Registration deadline: 21st April 2026
Abstract deadline: 21st April 2026
Registration will offer two options:
- full symposium, 24-28 August
- Wednesday, EISCAT history session, excursion and banquet dinner, 26 August
Programme
Start: Monday at 10.00
End: Friday in time for the afternoon flight to Stockholm.
Preliminary Programme:
| Time | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Friday | ||||
| 8:00 | Session | EISCAT history session | Session | Session | |
| 9:00 | Session | EISCAT history session | Session | Session | |
| 10:00 | Start with coffee | Coffee break | Coffee break | Coffee break | Coffee break |
| 10:30 | Session | Session | EISCAT history session | Session | Session |
| 11:00 | Session | Session | Lunch | Session | Session |
| 12:00 | Lunch | Lunch | Excursion to | Lunch | End of day |
| 13:00 | Session | Session | EISCAT_3D | Session | |
| 14:00 | Session | Session | Kaiseniemi | Session | |
| 15:00 | Coffee break | Coffee break | and visit to | Coffee break | |
| 16:00 | Session | Session | Naturum | Session | |
| 17:00 | Session | Session | Abisko | Session | |
| 18:00 | |||||
| 19:00 | Banquet dinner |
Anita Aikio (U Oulu)
Urban Brändström (IRF)
Jörg Gumbel (MISU)
Hiroatsu Sato (DLR)
Ilkka Virtanen (U Oulu)
Others to be decided.
EISCAT
Thomas Ulich
Viktoria Söderlind
Emma Unander
Accomodation and travel
Note: Due to high demand for hotels in Kiruna, we recommend to book your accommodation as soon as possible.
Make use of free cancellation policies and get your room now, prices for rooms increase quite severely as rooms sell out, and they do so early.
- Best Western Hotel Arctic Eden, old city centre
- Camp Ripan (hotel, cabins), near old city centre
- Gullriset, apartment hotel, self-catering, south of old city centre
- Hotel E10 (First Hotels), south of old city centre
- Malmfältens Folkhögskola Kiruna (hotel and hostel), near old city centre
- Scandic Kiruna, new city centre
- Elite Hotel Frost, new city centre
We recommend that you book your travel to Kiruna as soon as possible.
Kiruna by Air
You can fly directly to Kiruna Airport (KRN/ESNQ) which has daily connections to Stockholm (ARN/ESSA). Other airports in the region are Evenes Harstad Narvik Airport (EVE/ENEV) and Tromsø (TOS/ENTC) in Norway, from where you can travel by bus and/or train to Kiruna. See, e.g., Flybussen Evenes.
The meeting will end in time for the Friday afternoon departure(s).
Kiruna by Train
You can reach Kiruna, e.g., by night train from Stockholm, or by train from Narvik, Norway. Please refer to the Swedish Railways for more information.
Curious about Kiruna?
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden with a population of about 17,000 people. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality in Norrbotten County. The city was originally built in the 1890s to serve the world’s biggest underground iron ore mine owned by LKAB.
Due to the LKAB mine extending its operation under the old centre of Kiruna, large chunks of the town are being relocated, and historic buildings are moved to new places, including the Kiruna church, which resulted in the cancellation of the meeting in 2025.
Kiruna is the Space capital of Sweden with several notable space science entities operating here:
- Esrange Space Centre and rocket range
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics
- Luleå University of Technology‘s Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering
- EISCAT AB (formerly EISCAT Scientific Association)
Timezone: Local time in Sweden and Norway is Central European Time (CET=UTC+1h). At the time of the EISCAT Symposium the time will be Central European Summer Time (CEST=UTC+2h).
The Symposium will take place late summer, just at the end of the Polar Day when the White Nights of the Arctic Summer come to an end. The nights start to be dark enough to see the aurora in the late evening and very early morning.
| | Sun | Too | Sun | Sun | Dark Date | Darkst | Elev | Bright | Rise | Set | Enough -----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ 2026-08-22 | 00:41 | -10.3° | 03:10 | 04:27 | 20:53 | 23:12 | 2026-08-23 | 00:41 | -10.6° | 03:15 | 04:31 | 20:48 | 23:03 | 2026-08-24 | 00:41 | -11.0° | 03:21 | 04:35 | 20:44 | 22:54 | 2026-08-25 | 00:41 | -11.3° | 03:26 | 04:39 | 20:39 | 22:46 | 2026-08-26 | 00:40 | -11.7° | 03:31 | 04:42 | 20:35 | 22:38 | 2026-08-27 | 00:40 | -12.0° | 03:36 | 04:46 | 20:31 | 22:31 | 2026-08-28 | 00:40 | -12.4° | 03:41 | 04:50 | 20:27 | 22:24 | 2026-08-29 | 00:39 | -12.7° | 03:46 | 04:54 | 20:22 | 22:17 | 2026-08-30 | 00:39 | -13.1° | 03:50 | 04:57 | 20:18 | 22:11 |
The table above shows the time (CEST) when it is darkest including the Sun’s elevation below the horizon at that time. Also shown are the times when it becomes too bright / dark enough for seeing the aurora, as well as sunrise and sunset
