When in 1981 Louis and Walter Alvarez, the father and son team, unearthed a tell-tale Iridium-rich sedimentary horizon at the 65 million years-old Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary at Gubbio, Italy, their find heralded a paradigm shift in the study of terrestrial evolution. Since the 1980s the discovery and study of asteroid impact ejecta in the oldest well-preserved terrains of Western Australia and South Africa, by Don Lowe, Gary Byerly, Bruce Simonson, Scott Hassler, the author and others, and the documentation of new exposed and buried impact structures in several continents, have led to a resurgence of the idea of the catastrophism theory of Cuvier, previously largely supplanted by the uniformitarian theory of Hutton and Lyell. Several mass extinction of species events are known to have occurred in temporal proximity to large asteroid impacts, global volcanic eruptions and continental splitting. Likely links are observed between asteroid clusters and the 580 Ma acritarch radiation, end-Devonian extinction, end-Triassic extinction and end-Jurassic extinction. New discoveries of 3.5 3.2 Ga-old impact fallout units in South Africa have led Don Lowe and Gary Byerly to propose a protracted prolongation of the Late Heavy Bombardment ( 3.95-3.85 Ga) in the Earth-Moon system. Given the difficulty in identifying asteroid impact ejecta units and buried impact structures, it is likely new discoveries of impact signatures are in store, which would further profoundly alter models of terrestrial evolution..

"Weird Worlds" is the third book in David Seargent's "Weird" series. This book assumes a basic level of astronomical understanding and concentrates on the "odd and interesting" aspects of planetary bodies, including asteroids and moons. From our viewpoint here on Earth, this work features the most unusual features of these worlds and the ways in which they appear "weird" to us. Within our own Solar System, odd facts such as the apparent reversal of the Sun in the skies of Mercury, CO2-driven fountains of dust on Mars, possible liquid water (and perhaps primitive life!) deep within the dwarf planet Ceres, and a variety of odd facts about the planetary moons are all discussed. A special chapter is devoted to Saturn's giant moon Titan, and its methane-based weather system and "hydrological" cycle. This chapter also includes recent speculation on the possibility of methane-based organisms and the form that these might take, if they really do exist. Beyond our Solar System, the book looks at the range of worlds discovered and hypothesized. In "Weird Worlds," the author discusses planets where temperatures are so high that it rains molten iron, and others so cold that liquid methane floods across plains of ice! Worlds are described where the lightest element acts like a metal and where winds blow at thousands of miles per hour - as well as possible planets whose orbits are essentially parabolic. In keeping with previous titles in David Seargent's "Weird" series, "Weird Worlds" contains several projects that astronomers of all levels can undertake.

"Sky Alert! What Happens When Satellites Fail" explores for the first time what our modern world would be like if we were suddenly to lose most, if not all, of our space assets. The author demonstrates humankind's dependence on space satellites and show what might happen to various aspects of our economy, defense, and daily lives if they were suddenly destroyed. The book opens with a consideration of how our space assets might be lost in the first place: through orbital debris, war, and solar storms. The author then looks at what would happen if our satellites were lost, including the effect on weather forecasting, and the Global Positioning System, explaining GPS in detail and its importance to the military, including spy satellites and military reconnaissance, commerce, civilians, communications and remote sensing - both resource monitoring and locating and environmental monitoring and science. The effects of losing such assets as the International Space Station as well as such research satellites as the Hubble Space Telescope or the Chandra X-Ray Observatory are also considered. Part III of the book looks at how we can protect our satellites, preparing for the worst, reducing the growth and amount of orbital debris, preventing acts of war in space and hardening against space radiation. The book ends on an optimistic note: most spacefaring nations are now working together to develop new technologies to reduce the threat posed by orbital debris and in-space nuclear detonations and treaties exist to limit the development and use of weapons in space. Finally, it is hoped that it will not be long before we will be able to better predict and take precautions against solar storms. The global economy has now become so dependent upon satellites that their loss would be devastating - to the economy, to national security, and potentially, to the day-to-day survival of those who live in the world's most advanced economies.

Manned Spaceflight Log discusses over 40 recent spaceflights from September 2006 through September 2012, a time of great change in human spaceflight history. Following on from Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006, the authors continue the story until the end of September 2012, with new chapters detailing the development and accomplishments of human spaceflight, expanded tables and additional photographs, many in color, throughout. The book opens with a new foreword by Colonel Alfred M. Worden, USAF Retired, NASA Astronaut and CMP of Apollo 15, which reflects on the changing history of human spaceflight and the prospects for future operations.
The first chapter explains how human spaceflight has approached the different challenges of exploring space and provided the hardware to meet those challenges. This chapter also describes the various attempts to reach orbital flight and the often confusing distinction between ballistic, sub-orbital, and so-called astro-flights of the X-15 rocket research aircraft program. Chapter 2 recalls key historic moments and missions across five decades of human spaceflight. Each decade has provided useful lessons for the next and a foundation for future achievement. The new mission entries are collected in the third section in chronological order. A review of the next steps in human spaceflight, including plans to occupy the International Space Station well into the 2020s and the growth of the Chinese manned space program including a large space station and planned base on the Moon, is discussed in Chapter 4. The tables provide a complete up-to-date overview of human spaceflight operations and experience from April 1961 to September 2012 and a selected chronology of important milestones from those years. Completing the book is a comprehensive bibliography that lists all the major Springer-Praxis human spaceflight titles and other important works that provide the reader with a resource to continue further research.

The mounting problem of space debris in low earth orbit and its threat to the operation of application satellites has been increasingly recognized as space activities increase. The efforts of the Inter Agency Space Debris Coordinating Committee (IADC) and UN COPUS have now led to international guidelines to mitigate the creation of new debris. This book discusses the technical studies being developed for active removal processes and otherwise mitigating problems of space debris, particularly in low earth orbit. This book also considers threats to space systems and the Earth that comes from natural causes such as asteroids, coronal mass ejections, and radiation. After more than half a century of space applications and explorations, the time has come to consider ways to provide sustainability for long-term space activities.

Recent space missions to the outer solar system, Galileo (1996-2003) and Cassini-Huygens (2004-today), together with ground observations, have revealed that the moons of the outer solar system are enigmatic objects, introducing extraordinary challenges for geologists, astrobiologists, organic chemists, and planetologists. Chemical exchange exists through the different layers that form their interiors, and also from the interior to the surface. The most convincing evidence is certainly the discovery of water vapour and ice particles emerging from Enceladus's active south polar region. Evidence for exchange with a subsurface liquid ocean has also been provided by the inference of hydrated salts on the surfaces of Jupiter's moons, Europa and Ganymede, as well as the detection of sodium salts in particles originating in Enceladus's plumes. Aqueous exchange with the rocky core may also be possible, considering that 40Ar has been observed in the plumes of Enceladus during one flyby of Cassini and in the atmosphere of Titan. The ongoing CH4 replenishment in Titan's atmosphere is additional striking evidence of exchange processes within the moons.

This collection of articles emerged from the Nobel Symposium 98 that celebrated the centenary of the Nobel Prize as well as the one of the famous Swedish astronomer Bertil Lindblad. Many outstanding scientists contributed to this unique review of the state of the art in barred galaxy research. Theoretical papers describe their evolution, the dynamics as well as fundamental physical effects near their nuclei. Other contributions cover numerical and observational aspects and thus represent a very active area in astrophysics. The centre of our galaxy was also amply dealt with. The collection addresses researchers as well as graduate students.

This volume provides an overview of our current understanding of the physics related to: coronal structures and coronal heating; large-scale coronal shock waves and coronal mass ejections; particle beams in the solar corona and in the interplanetary medium; and explosive energy-release phenomena and particle acceleration. The different articles give a well-balanced presentation of relevant observations based upon various techniques, models and theories, providing a global view of these phenomena and of the underlying physics. In-situ measurements of particles and waves with ULYSSES and WIND and spectral and imaging data from SOHO and YOHKOH provide an unprecedented richness of relevant data. For their better understanding, radio observations - also included in this book - play a key role.

This volume brings together theoretical ideas on the plasma physics of both hot and dense plasmas in the solar atmosphere and similar physics applied to the tenuous and cooler plasmas found in the heliosphere. It is complemented by recent observations. Helioseismology covers the solar interior and the neutrino problem. Solar and stellar activity cycles are addressed. The dynamics of magnetic flux tubes in the solar atmosphere and material flows through the chromosphere into the upper atmosphere are comprehensively reviewed. Energy release processes and the production of energetic particles are important to understanding events in the solar atmosphere and to the dynamics of the tenuous heliosphere. A glimpse of the future is offered by concluding chapters on new ground-based and space instrumentation.

Dramatic progress is a trademark of the recent study of globular cluster systems. Considerations about the formation and evolution compose the first chapter, followed by a chapter on young star clusters. Then come four chapters reviewing the globular cluster system of early-type, late-type and dwarf galaxies, as well as of groups of galaxies. One chapter is dedicated to stellar population models and their applications to the field. Finally a chapter reviews the kinematics of galaxies derived from globular cluster systems and another their role in the context of galaxy formation and evolution studies. As a whole, the book gives an up-to-date view of the field at the beginning of the new decade, which will without doubt again bring significant progress in our understanding of globular cluster systems and galaxy formation and evolution.

At the time of ?nalising this second volume of the ?Yearbook on Space Policy? which covers the period mid-2007 to mid-2008, Europe is as visible and strong in the area of space activities as never before. Its space probes are present on the Moon, around Mars, and on Saturn's Moon Titan, and are chasing asteroids and comets; Ariane V is the most successful commercial launch vehicle; and more and more European space applications satellites are in operation. Finally, with the successful launch of the Columbus Orbital Facility (COF) - the most prominent highlight of this period which is also depicted on the cover of this Yearbook - and the ?rst Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), Europe has become a decisive player in human space?ight. This is accompanied by new policy initiatives on the ministerial level which have been bringing the European Space Agency and the European Union steadily closer. Europe's outstanding development and positioning in the space ?eld is based not only on Europe's successful engineering and scienti?c capabilities and capacities, but also on the forceful political determination of all European actors to maintain and even further their engagement in the use of outer space. And it is this political determination which provides the focus for this ?Yearbook on Space Policy?. The Yearbook describes and analyses the contexts and contents of space policy. Its primary ?eld of investigation is Europe, but it also covers the whole range of global space activities and their in?uence on European endeavours.

The sixth EUROTRAC Symposium was held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, th st Gennany from 27 - 31 March 2000. Some 375 scientists from 28 different countries (from the USA to Uzbekistan) gathered together and contributed to a lively week. Symposium 2000 was the second Symposium of the second phase, EUROTRAC- 2 which is EUREKA environmental project number 1489, and also the ftrst one organised by the new team at the International Scientiftc Secretariat (ISS). We stayed with the tried and tested EUROTRAC format, giving ample time for poster sessions as well as side meetings and workshops. The invited talks, over 35 in all, contributed breadth and depth. The Symposium had the focal points of "Shaping the Future" and "Scientiftc Research and Environmental Policy". The "Highlights from the Subprojects" were well represented by a series of talks and of course by the ca 300 posters. Guest poster contributions added to the spectrum of scientiftc coverage. An innovation for 2000 is the publication of these Proceedings in a book containing the extended abstracts of the lectures and a companion CD-ROM with the extended abstracts of the posters as well as the lectures. The availability of the Proceedings on a CD will enable us to distribute them more widely.

This monograph attempts to provide a systematic and consistent survey of the fundamentals of the theory of free, linear, isentropic oscillations in spherically symmetric, gaseous equilibrium stars, whose structure is affected neither by axial rotation, nor by the tidal action of a companion, nor by a magnetic eld. Three parts can be distinguished. The rst part, consisting of Chaps.1-8, covers the basic concepts and equations, the distinction between spheroidal and toroidal normal modes, the solution of Poisson's differential equation for the perturbation of the gravitational potential, and Hamilton's variational principle. The second part, consisting of Chaps.9-13, is devotedto the possible existenceof waves propagating in the radial direction, the origin and classi cation of normal modes, the comple- ness of the normal modes, and the relation between the local stability with respect to convection and the global stability of a star. In the third part, Chaps.14-18 c- tain asymptoticrepresentationsof normalmodes. Chapter 19 deals with slow period changes in rapidly evolving pulsating stars. The theory is developed within the framework of the Newtonian theory of gr- itation and the hydrodynamics of compressible uids. It is described in its present status, with inclusion of open questions. We give preference to the use of the adjective "isentropic" above that of the adjective "adiabatic," since, from a thermodynamic point of view, these stellar - cillations are described as reversible adiabatic processes and thus as processes that take place at constant entropy.

A wealth of new experimental and theoretical results has been obtained in solar physics since the first edition of this textbook appeared in 1989. Thus all nine chapters have been thoroughly revised, and about 100 pages and many new illustrations have been added to the text. The additions include element diffusion in the solar interior, the recent neutrino experiments, methods of image restoration, observational devices used for spectroscopy and polarimetry, and new developments in helioseismology and numerical simulation. The book takes particular advantage of the results of several recent space missions, which lead to substantial progress in our understanding of the Sun, from the deep interior to the corona and solar wind.

IAU Transactions are published as a volume corresponding to each General Assembly.

Volume A is produced prior to the Assembly and contains Reports on Astronomy, prepared by each Commission President. The intention is to summarize the astronomical results that have affected the work of the Commission since the production of the previous Reports up to a time which is about one year prior to the General Assembly.

Volume B is produced after the Assembly and contains accounts of Commission Meetings which were held, together with other material. The reports included in the present volume range from outline summaries to lengthy compilations and references.

NASA's Genesis mission, launched on August 8, 2001 is the fifth mission in the Discovery series. Genesis addresses questions about the materials and processes involved in the origin of the solar system by providing precise knowledge of solar isotopic and elemental compositions for comparison with the compositions of meteoritic and planetary materials. This book describes the Genesis mission, the solar wind collector materials, the solar wind concentrator and simulations of its performance, the plasma ion and electron instruments, and the way these two instruments are used to determine the solar wind flow regime on board the spacecraft. The book is of interest to all potential users of the data returned by the Genesis mission, to those studying the isotopic and chemical composition of the early solar system whose work will be influenced by the measurements made by Genesis and by all those interested in the design and implementation of space instruments to study space plasmas.

Presents and addresses key space law and policy issues for the benefit of wider informed audiences that wish to acquaint themselves with the fundamentals of the space law field. This brief analyzes in a concise manner the combined influence of space law and policy on international space activities. Read in conjunction with the other books in the Springer 'Space Development' series, it supports a broader understanding of the business, economics, engineering, legal, and procedural aspects of space activities. This book will also give the casual reader as well as experts in the field insight on present and future space law and policy trends, challenges and opportunities.

The first Asia-Pacific Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics took place from August 23 to August 28, 1999, at the Noda campus of the Sci ence University of Tokyo in Noda-city and Sawayaka Chiba Kenmin Plaza in Kashiwa-city, a suburb of Tokyo close to the Narita-Tokyo International Air port, with the Frontier Research Center for Computation Sciences (FRCCS) of the Science University of Tokyo as the host institute. The High Energy Accel erator Research Organization (KEK), the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP)-Osaka University, the Physical Society of Japan, and the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies (AAPPS) supported this conference. The conference was initiated in the Asia Pacific area as a counterpart to the successful European Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics (APFB99), in addition to the International Few-Body Conference Series and the Few Body Gordon Conference series in North America. The Physics of Few-Body Problems covers, as is well known, systems with finite numbers of particles in contrast to many-body systems with very large numbers of particles. Therefore, it covers such wide fields as mesoscopic, atom-molecular, exotic atom, nucleon, hyperon, and quark-gluon physics, plus their applications."

After a year's successful operation, the European DENIS project is now a scientific reality and its close cousin 2MASS (USA) is about to come into operation. The observational and data reduction processes of both DENIS and 2MASS are fully described in this volume. Already the impact of DENIS is making itself felt in the astronomical community in areas of research as diverse as cosmology, the evolution of galaxies, the interstellar medium, the search for brown dwarfs, and stellar structure and evolution. The first routine results from DENIS and the preliminary results from the 2MASS prototype camera are discussed and compared with other surveys across the wavelength spectrum, both space- and ground-based, including the Digitized Sky Survey, ISO and ROSAT.

Mohamed Larbi Selassi Deputy Director of the National Meteorology, Morocco Welcome address (translated from French) WMO, WCRP, Medias-France and scientific institutions representatives, ladies and gentlemen, to thank WMO and MEDIAS-France, who have honoured us by I want first organizing the two workshops, climate indices in Africa and data assessment for global change research in the Mediterranean region, in Casablanca and I welcome all of you here in Morocco. It is with great pleasure that I open these two workshops on behalf of myself and on behalf of the Direction of the Meteorologie N ationale of Morocco. Climate change is becoming the focus of the international community because of its global scale and unpredictable effects, the numerous impacts it causes, its global feature and the complexity of the solutions that can mitigate its impacts. Global warming and the greenhouse effect became a subject of study at the international level since the United Nations Conference on the human environment that was held in Stockholm in 1972. The research and coordination efforts that have been made in this area have led to an "International Scientific consensus". High level meetings like those held in Toronto in 1988, in Lahaye in 1989 and in Geneva in 1990, did confirm the greenhouse threat and the emergency to treat it.

The authors, leading representatives of Russian space research and industry, show the results and future prospects of astronautics at the start of the third millennium. The focus is on the development of astronautics in Russia in the new historical and economic conditions. The text spotlights the basic trends in space related issues before moving on to describe the possibilities of the wide use of space technologies and its numerous applications such as navigation and communication, space manufacturing, and space biotechnology. The book contains a large amount of facts described in a way understandable without specialist knowledge. The text is accompanied by many photographs, charts and diagrams, mostly in color.

The Space Shuttle has been the dominant machine in the U.S. space program for thirty years and has generated a great deal of interest among space enthusiasts and engineers. This book enables readers to understand its technical systems in greater depth than they have been able to do so before. The author describes the structures and systems of the Space Shuttle, and then follows a typical mission, explaining how the structures and systems were used in the launch, orbital operations and the return to Earth. Details of how anomalous events were dealt with on individual missions are also provided, as are the recollections of those who built and flew the Shuttle. Many photographs and technical drawings illustrate how the Space Shuttle functions, avoiding the use of complicated technical jargon. The book is divided into two sections: Part 1 describes each subsystem in a technical style, supported by diagrams, technical drawings, and photographs to enable a better understanding of the concepts. Part 2 examines different flight phases, from liftoff to landing. Technical material has been obtained from NASA as well as from other forums and specialists. Author Davide Sivolella is an aerospace engineer with a life-long interest in space and is ideally qualified to interpret technical manuals for a wider audience. This book provides comprehensive coverage of the topic including the evolution of given subsystems, reviewing the different configurations, and focusing on the solutions implemented.

The present sixth volume of ISSI Space Sciences Series is the outcome of the most ambitious study project of ISSI hitherto, that on 'Source and Loss Processes of Magnetospheric Plasma'. The goal has been to produce a fully integrated book on the subject, which gives an authoritative overview of all aspects of the topic in a well organized form, useful and readable both for active researchers in the field and for young scientists who are starting their research in space physics. In order to represent the full diversity of experience and perspective that exists in the science community, some 50 leading scientists from allover the world were invited to participate in the project and contribute to the text. With the scientific competence well in hand, the dominating problem in producing the book has been to achieve a degree of consistency in style, nomenclature, notations and format, as well as good cross referencing. To what degree we have succeeded in reaching our goal of delivering a volume that will be useful to the community in both its comprehensiveness and readability remains to be decided by the readers. The book is the outcome of a three year long process. In December 1995 the study project on 'Source and Loss Processes of Magnetospheric Plasma' was se lected by ISSI after consultations with several groups of senior representatives of the space physics community."

The geomagnetic field observed on the surface of the earth has been an important source of information on the dynamic behavior of the magnetosphere. Because the. magnetosphere and its environment are filled with plasma in which electric current can easily flow, dynamic processes that occur in the magnetosphere tend to produce perturba tions in the geomagnetic field. Geomagnetic data have therefore pro vided valuable means for sensing the processes taking place at remote locations, and such basic concepts as the magnetosphere, solar wind, and trapped radiation were derived in early, presatellite days from geomagnetic analyses. Because of this advantage, geomagnetic observations have been widely utilized for monitoring the overall condition of the magneto sphere. Although the advent of space vehides has made it possible to observe magnetospheric processes in situ, supplementary information on the overall magnetospheric condition is frequently found to be indispensable for interpreting these observations in the proper perspec tive. Hence for magnetospheric physicists involved in various branches of the field it has become a common practice to employ geomagnetic data as a basic diagnostic tool."

This is an extended version of lectures that were held at the summer workshop Atmosphiirische Umweltforschung im Spannungsfeld zwischen Technik und Natur (At mospheric Environmental Research between Technology and Nature) at the Techni 16, 1996. We were very happy to have Paul J. Crutzen, cal University in Cottbus on July winner of the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1995, presenting the key lecture on glo bally changing chemistry in the atmosphere. Over the last decades, atmospheric chem istry has been established step by step, not just as an applied discipline of chemistry, but also as a key discipline for our understanding of air pollution, biogeochemical cycling, and climactic processes as well. In fact, the new definition of meteorology as the science of physics and chemistry of the atmosphere expresses this development very well. The chemistry of the atmosphere is strongly influenced by anthropogenic emissions, even on a global scale. As a result of emissions and chemical reactions, the chemical composition of the atmosphere influences the ecosystems directly via depo sition of trace substances, and indirectly by changing the physical climate. Therefore, in this book we combined state-of-the-art lectures describing the physical and chemi cal status of the atmosphere and selected issues representing the interface between atmosphere, technology and nature. Oxidising capacity, heterogeneous processes and acidity still remain as key issues in atmospheric chemistry, even in regions where efficient air control measures have been adopted resulting in reduction of primary atmospheric pollutants."