Successes and lessons: workshop “Colours and Life in the Universe 2025” at the University of Latvia

From November 20th to 23rd, 2025, the University of Latvia Institute of Astronomy held the first edition of the workshop "Colours and Life in the Universe" (CLU25). This four-day workshop focused on spectroscopy and the spectral information contained in various objects on Earth and in space, as well as the signatures of life found in them. 

The program was set to have a good balance between theory and hands-on activities. This was achieved by offering four different projects, of which each team conducted one, with an expert assigned to each project. For the project "Colours and Life on Earth and Moons" the expert was Prof. Bernard Foing, project "Colours of galaxies and beyond" expert - Dr. Mojtaba Raouf, project "Dangerous asteroids and exotic stars" expert - Dr. Ilgmārs Eglītis, and project "Colourful Earth from Space" - Prof. Gulin Dede. The first two days were theory focused to obtain the baseline knowledge about spectroscopy, and its applications. The program included lectures, as well as panel discussions from experts across various fields within spectroscopy. The last two days took place at Baldone Observatory and were project-oriented, allowing teams to pursue their interests within the project themes under expert guidance.

The teams had access to the Baldone Schmidt telescope with 1.2 meter mirror and prism spectroscopy, 55 cm Cassegrain telescope with fiber spectroscopy, and other smaller telescopes. After instructions on how to use the telescopes, they could choose the targets and operate the telescopes by themselves with guidance from experts during the whole night.

In the last day, each team presented its project to three experts, who spanned both the space and ground spectroscopy and commercialization aspects. Each team was awarded in a specific category, with options to have funded participation in conferences with their projects, along with other astronomy based activities.

The feedback on the workshop was excellent, as the participants learned the most by applying their newly obtained knowledge to real astronomy problems. It sparked their interest in the field, and a significant portion of the participants are engaged in continuing their projects after the workshop. Some teams even produced novel results, such as getting the spectra of an asteroid for the first time with the Baldone Schmidt telescope, which provided direct benefits for senior researchers.

Due to the success of the event, the workshop will be held annually to popularize the astronomy field in Latvia. Additionally, the workshop workflow can be adapted for other countries and represents a relevant activity for the EGU capacity building. The workshop was organized within the ERDF project No. 1.1.1.5/2/24/A/004.

Invited speakers included: Salim Ansari, Mojtaba Raouf, Gulin Dede, Vilma Puriene, Jara Pascual, Karlis Pukitis, Kalvis Salmins, Andris Slavinskis, Varis Karitans, and Lev Lapkis.