Spirit of Lyot 6

Driven by great progress in exoplanet research over the past two decades, the field of high contrast imaging is assuming a larger and larger role in the future of astrophysics. Since 2007, the Spirit of Lyot Conference series has brought together the instrumentalists whose innovations push the field forward with the scientists who utilize those capabilities to better understand exoplanets, circumstellar disks, stellar outflows, and AGN.  With the new capabilities offered by JWST, ongoing upgrades to coronagraphs on large ground telescopes, the upcoming launch of the Roman Space Telescope and its coronagraph instrument, the looming onset of extremely large telescopes on the ground, and an invigorated technology development program in support of NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory, it is time to meet again to consider these developments and future directions for the field.

The sixth Lyot Conference will take place on the campus of the California Institute of Technology during the week of February 2-6 2026. Topics for the conference include:

• High contrast imaging instrumentation and technology development
• Exoplanet imaging and imaging spectroscopy
• Theory, modeling, and imaging of circumstellar disks & exozodiacal light
• Large telescopes and adaptive optical systems
• Modeling of exoplanet atmospheres and biosignatures
• Image processing and spectral retrieval techniques
• High contrast imaging space missions and mission concepts

The conference will run the full week, with a free afternoon for breakout meetings, lab tours, or time-off excursions. We expect to be able to offer travel assistance for early career presenters, on a case-by-case basis.

Pasadena is a small city in the greater Los Angeles area, set below the San Gabriel mountains and boasting an average high temperature of 20 deg C (68 deg F) in early February. It is a center for high contrast imaging research at Caltech, IPAC and the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI), NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Thirty Meter and Giant Magellan Telescope corporations.

This website will be updated periodically with additional information on SOC & LOC members, invited speakers, and information on travel & lodging.

For more information, visit https://conference.ipac.caltech.edu/SpiritofLyot6