Initially this book focuses on the chemical and morphological properties of dust particles, both cosmological and terrestrial, and some of techniques used to gain information. When light or other electromagnetic radiation interacts with dust or other particles it is scattered in all directions. The scattering interaction are relevant to many fields of science: dust affects communications, dust particles affect the output of aerosol monitors, and dust particles are an important astrophysical component, making up a large part of the dark matter in the universe. The electromagnetic forces exerted on these particles may play an important role in bringing the particles together to form larger astronomical bodies.Optics of Cosmic Dust describes what we currently know about cosmic dust, how we know it, and the research efforts undertaken to provide that knowledge. Areas treated include observational information, dust morphology and chemistry, light-scattering models, characterisation methodologies, and backscatter polarisation and dynamics. Suitable as an introductory text, the book is also a reference guide for the advanced researcher.

The 186th IAU Symposium came at an exciting and perhaps even historic time for extragalactic astronomy. New spacecraft observations plumbed the depths of the Universe out to redshifts of five, while revealing astounding details of nearby galaxies and AGN at intermediate redshifts. Theoretical ideas on structure formation, together with results from detailed numerical modeling, created a comprehensive framework for modeling the formation of galaxies and the transformation of galaxies by interactions and mergers. All these strands came together at the Symposium, as participants glimpsed a developing synthesis highlighting galactic encounters and their role in the history of the Universe. This volume offers professional astronomers, including PhD students, an overview of the rapidly advancing subject of galaxy interactions at low and high redshifts.

This volume is the product of Lecturers in the fourth Course of the International School of Cosmic-Ray Astrophysics held at the Ettore Majorana Center in Erice, Sicily in November, 1984. The Course, devoted to "Cosmic Radiation in Contemporary Astrophysics," was concurrently a NATO-sponsored Advanced Study Institute (ASI). Cosmic-ray research is in a state of ferment. Precise measure ments - some made with instruments aboard sattelites and space probe- have been confronting models and theories with severe constraints. The observations of gamma-ray sources, notably Cyg X-3, at energies up to 16 10 eV, have opened up tantalizing possibilities of direct source iden tification. This ASI was devoted largely to interdisciplinary phenomena in cosmic-ray astrophysics whose understanding requires input from the other channels in astronomy. It explored the ways in which progress in cosmic-ray science might clarify phenomena observed in related disciplines. In trying to achieve this aim, we assembled a staff of lecturers representing various astrophysical specialties, such as radio astronomy, optical astronomy, X-ray astronomy, gamma-ray astronomy, and of course, particle astronomy (i.e., cosmic radiation). Students and other participants were likewise drawn from diverse backgrounds. Vigorous discussions enlivened almost every session."

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.

Dwarf galaxy research constitutes an extremely vibrant field of astrophysical research, with many long-standing questions still unsettled and new ones constantly arising. The intriguing diversity of the dwarf galaxy population, observed with advanced ground-based and space-borne observatories over a wide spectral window providing an unprecedented level of detail, poses new challenges for both observers and theoreticians.
The aim of this symposium was to bring together these two groups to exchange ideas and new results on the many evolutionary aspects of and open issues concerning dwarf galaxies. The main topics addressed include: the birth of dwarf galaxies: theoretical concepts and observable relics across wavelengths and time, the morphological, structural and chemical evolution of dwarf galaxies, possible evolutionary connections between early-type and late-type dwarfs, the star formation history of dwarf galaxies and its dependence on intrinsic and environmental properties, the origin and implications of starburst activity in dwarf galaxies, the fate of dwarfish systems born out of tidally ejected matter in galaxy collisions.

This book highlights selected topics of standard and modern theory of accretion onto black holes and magnetized neutron stars. The structure of stationary standard discs and non-stationary viscous processes in accretion discs are discussed to the highest degree of accuracy analytic theory can provide, including relativistic effects in flat and warped discs around black holes. A special chapter is dedicated to a new theory of subsonic settling accretion onto a rotating magnetized neutron star. The book also describes supercritical accretion in quasars and its manifestation in lensing events. Several chapters cover the underlying physics of viscosity in astrophysical discs with some important aspects of turbulent viscosity generation. The book is aimed at specialists as well as graduate students interested in the field of theoretical astrophysics.

Describing interstellar matter in our galaxy in all of its various forms, this book also considers the physical and chemical processes that are occurring within this matter. The first seven chapters present the various components making up the interstellar matter and detail the ways that we are able to study them. The following seven chapters are devoted to the physical, chemical and dynamical processes that control the behaviour of interstellar matter. These include the instabilities and cloud collapse processes that lead to the formation of stars. The last chapter summarizes the transformations that can occur between the different phases of the interstellar medium. Emphasizing methods over results, The Interstellar Medium is written for graduate students, for young astronomers, and also for any researchers who have developed an interest in the interstellar medium.

Our understanding of galaxy formation comes mostly from two sources: sensitive observations at high angular resolution of the high-redshift Universe, where galaxies are observed to be forming, and detailed observations of individual stars and clouds in the Local Group, where telltale remnants from its formative time remain and similar processes operate at a low level today. The current conference focusses on key aspects of the Local Group, composed of the Milky Way, Andromeda and Triangulum Spiral Galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud galaxies, numerous dwarf and irregular galaxies, and intergalactic gas. Topics include the halo and thick disk of the Milky Way with its first stars and stellar streams; the Milky Way bar, bulge and outer edge; interstellar dust and turbulence; star formation processes and stellar scattering in spiral arms; views through the infrared Eyes of the Spitzer Space Telescope; globular clusters; the Local Gould Belt; stellar metallicities and elemental abundances; the environment and black hole in the Milky Way nucleus; orbits of the Magellanic Clouds and galaxy dwarfs; interstellar dust and turbulence; the outer disks and halos of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies; ripples from a collision in Andromeda; and arcs of carbon stars in the Triangulum and intergalactic clouds. This volume also discusses surveys of planetary nebulae, galaxy morphology at low and high redshift, cosmic evolution of star and galaxy formation and gas accretion, Lyman alpha emitting galaxies, ultra-low surface brightness imaging, and more. Readers are given a clear and comprehensive view of this wide range of topics written by specialists in each field. This is the proceedings of an International Conference at the Seychelles archipelago in May 2014, on the occasion of the 60th birthday of David Block and the millionth (base two) birthday of Bruce Elmegreen.

Exciting results are blooming, thanks to a convergence between unprecedented asteroseismic data obtained by the satellites CoRoT and KEPLER, and state-of-the-art models of the internal structure of red giants and of galactic evolution. The pulsation properties now available for thousands of red giants promise to add valuable and independent constraints to current models of structure and evolution of our galaxy. Such a close connection between these domains opens a new very promising gate in our understanding of stars and galaxies. In this book international leaders in the field offer a wide perspective of the recent advancements in: Asteroseismology of red giants Models of the atmosphere, internal structure, and evolution of red giants Stellar population synthesis and models of the Milky Way

Black holes are becoming increasingly important in contemporary research in astrophysics, cosmology, theoretical physics, and mathematics. Indeed, they provoke some of the most fascinating questions in fundamental physics, which may lead to revolutions in scientific thought. Written by distinguished scientists, Classical and Quantum Black Holes provides a comprehensive panorama of black hole physics and mathematics from a modern point of view. The book begins with a general introduction, followed by five parts that cover several modern aspects of the subject, ranging from the observational and the experimental to the more theoretical and mathematical issues. The material is written at a level suitable for postgraduate students entering the field.

This volume presents the results of the workshop discussions on the jet phenomenon on different astrophysical scales and covers interdisciplinary areas such as steady state winds, time-dependent winds/jets, jet energetics and jet/wind propagation.

Proceedings of the 97th Colloquium of the International Astronomical Union, held in Brussels, Belgium, June 8-13, 1987

I.A.U. symposium No. 110 on VLBI and Compact Radio Sources was held in Bologna, Italy from June 27 to July 1, 1983. 166 participants from 19 countries were registered and 106 invited and contributed papers were registered. The scientific presentations and discussion concentrated on VLBI observation and interpretation of galactic and extragalactic radio sour ces, including topics as diverse as quasars and galactic nuclei, inter stellar masers, pulsars, and astrometry. Geodetic applications and tech nical development were treated only briefly, as these topics have been the subject of other recent international symposia. Since the first VLBI observations in 1967, sensitivity, resolution, and image quality have improved dramatically. Radio maps shown at the symposium were of comparable quality to conventional synthesis maps be ing made at the time of the first VLBI experiments 15 years ago, but with a resolution more than a factor of 1000 better. We wanted to accommodate the large number of contributed papers in this rapidly developing field, but there was inadequate time for normal oral presentations and discussion. We therefore asked that all contrib uted papers be put on display for at least 24 hours prior to a brief oral summary. A question and discussion period followed groups of oral pres entations on the same or similar topic. In this way the opportunity for interactive discussion, not available in conventional poster displays, was preserved."

It was with pleasure that CAUP became for three days the core to the cloud of star formation experts all over the world. Close to the celebration of its 15th anniversary - therefore still in the early stages of institutional evolution - we are proud of our multiple activities in Astronomy: a productive research centre, classi?ed as "Institution of excellence" within the Portuguese research units, but also an "Institution of Public Utility" as recognised by the Government. Fifteen years ago we choose to play a role not only in research, as expected from any research centre but also in the training of the future astronomers and the promotion of science and scienti?c culture. This choice is clearly stated in our by-laws and also in the multiple activities we have carried out since. Along the years we have organized on a regular basis international Workshops similar to "Cores to Clusters." Sometimes we have chosen to organize int- national conferences of a larger size. On other occasions the choice has been for smaller and more informal discussion meetings. Or even doctoral schools with very different objectives. In common all those meetings have always had, besides the formal registered participants, a group of informal participants, our undergraduate students of Astronomy, so eager to be in touch with the real world.

The year: 1660. The date: November 28. Present: The Lord Brouncker, Mr Boyle, Mr Bruce, Sir Robert Moray, Sir Paule Neile, Dr Wilkins, Dr Goddard, Dr Petty, Mr Ball, Mr Hooke, Mr Wren, and Mr Hill. Occasion: A lecture by Mr Wren at Gresham College, United Kingdom. AfterChristopherWrenhaddeliveredhislectureatGreshamCollegeonthathistoric occasion in November 1660, "they did according to the usual manner, withdraw for mutual converse." It was in 1660 that the Royal Society was founded, with 12 persons present. This year, 2010, is thus a special year for scientists worldwide: it celebrates the 350th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Society, whose current President is Martin Rees. One of the enormous challenges facing scientists in the 1600s was the great need fortheclassi cationofobjectstheywerestudying,particularlyinthe eldofbotany. The seeds for classi cation lie in the works of the British naturalist John Ray (1628-1705), who commencing in 1660 with hisCatalogusplantarumcirca Cantabrigiamnascentium (Catalogue of Cambridge Plants) - published in the year in which the Royal Society was founded - and ending with the posthumous publi- tion ofSynopsisMethodicaAviumetPiscium in 1713, pioneered systematic studies on plants, birds, mammals, sh, and insects.

4. Census of the Catalogue The catalogue contains information on 277 objects. 137 (50%) of them are stars whose outburst spectra or unambiguous mInImUm characteristics classify them as novae beyond doubt. 123 of them could be identified at minimum. 78 (28 %) are stars with amplitudes and light curve forms which makes nova classifi cation likely. 60 of them could be identified at minimum. Thus, 78 % ofthe objects in this catalogue are confirmed and suspected classical novae. 16 (6%) have properties compatible with both novae and related objects. 15 are identified at minimum. Furthermore, the catalogue and atlas contains data on 12 (4 %) dwarf novae of long cycle length or suspected dwarf novae for which only one outburst has been observed. Examples are WZ Sge and CI Gern. 6 (2%) recurrent novae or suspected recurrent novae are listed. Examples are T CrB and AS Psc. 6 (2%) X-ray novae are listed. Examples are V616 Mon and KY TrA. 6 (2%) symbiotic stars and symbiotic novae are listed. Examples are RT Ser and V352 Aql. 11 (4 %) Mira stars or suspected Mira stars, which at some time were believed to be novae, are listed. Examples are V607 Aql and V927 Sgr."

This book contains the proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 151 Evolutionary Processes in Interacting Binary Stars, ' which was held from 5 to 9 August 1991 in Cord ba, Argentina. The primary aim of this conference was to review and evaluate our current understanding of the evolutionary processes in wide variety of interacting binary stars from their births to their deaths. Subjects included the formation of binaries, mass flow and transfer, accretion processes, and binaries with collapsed components, such as novae, X-ray binaries and binary pulsars. As the field covered is both broad and diverse, there were in all thirty-seven invited talks; sixty-two contributed papers were also presented. In addition, these proceedings contain comments from a panel discussion of the major unsolved problems of interacting binary stars.

The mystery of the diffuse interstellar bands has been variously a curiosity, a co nundrum, and a nuisance for astronomers in the seven decades since the features were first noticed, but recently they have become a forefront issue in astrophysics. Ever since Paul Merrill, in a series of papers starting in 1934, pointed out the interstellar and unidentified nature of the bands, a Who's Who of twentieth century astronomers have tried their hands at solving the problem of identifying the carriers. Henry Norris Russell, Pol Swings, Otto Struve, Paul Ledoux, W. W. Morgan, Walter Adams, Jesse Greenstein, Lawrence Aller, and Gerhard Herzberg all briefly entered the stage, only to move on quickly to other problems where the chances for progress appeared more realistic. In more recent times a number of equally prominent scientists have pursued the bands, but generally only as a sideline to their real astronomical research. But in the past decade, and particularly in the past three years, the view of the search for the diffuse band absorbers as an interesting but perhaps quixotic quest has changed. Today there are several astronomers, as well as laboratory chemists, who are devoting substantial research time and resources to the problem and, as perhaps the most reliable indicator of the newly elevated status of research in this field, some research grants have now been awarded for the study of the bands."

Recent advances in observational and theoretical efforts in understanding the nature of cataclysmic variables had reached such maturity that there existed a strong, shared feeling among the workers in this field that an international colloquium sponsored by the International Astronomical Union would be timely. To be more specific, this was due primarily to the accumulation of the new data from satellite observatories, such as the International Ultraviolet Observatory (IUE) and EXOSAT, as well as ground-based optical and radio telescopes, and the advances in modeling the putative accretion disks and the thermo-nuclear run-away phenomena in the vinicity of the white dwarf stars in cataclysmic variables. A series of workshops on this subject held in North America over the past several years and that held in Europe in 1985 had all contributed to the advances in our knowledge that led to IAU Colloguium No. 93, held in Bamberg from the 16th to 19th of June 1986. In all, 157 astronomers from 27 countries participated in this conference. Judging from the papers presented, both invited and contributed, and from the enthusiasm seen in discussions, the meeting was indeed a success.

Adriaan Blaauw; Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at the Universities of Groningen and Leiden, former Directo.r of the Kapteyn Laboratory and of the European Southern Observatory, celebrated his 70th anniversary on 12 April 1984. To mark this event, an international Symposium was con- vened on the subject "Birth and Evolution of Massive Stars and Stellar Groups", a subject which has played the leading role in Blaauw's scien- tific research. The present volume contains the Scientific Proceedings of that Symposium. The meeting was organized by a Committee consisting of: W.H.W.M. Boland (Secretary), W.N. Brouw, W.B. Burton, E.P.J. van den Heuvel, H. van der Laan and H. van Woerden (Chairman). Together, these six persons represented the Executive Committees of the Netherlands Foundation for Astronomical Research (ASTRON) and the Netherlands Foundation for Radio Astronomy (RZM), two organizations in which Blaauw has held key offices. The scientific program was planned in full consultation with Adri- aan Blaauw himself. Only section 5, "A profile of Adriaan Blaauw", was kept secret to him. The other four sections: Structure of star-forming regions, Stellar content of young groups, Evolution of massive stars, and Extragalactic perspective on star formation, each represent an im- portant aspect of the overall theme of the Symposium. The program in- cluded 6 major review papers, 18 invited papers, 17 contributed papers, some of which were given as posters, and ample time for discussion.

The Third Microquasar Workshop (or the 'Fifth' Workshop on Galactic Relativ istic Jet Sources), was held in Granada, Andalucia (Spain) on 11-13 September 2000. The aim of this workshop in Granada, following the previous Microquasar Workshops in Greenbelt (1997) and Paris (1998) and the Workshops on galactic sources with relativistic jets in Jodrell Bank (1996) and Milton Keynes (1998), was to focus on the theoretical and observational aspects of microquasars. The study of microquasars, the sources in our Galaxy displaying powerful re lativistic jets, is a rapidly advancing field in astrophysics. The new instrumentation on ground (MERLIN, SCUBA, VLA, VLT) and aboard satellites (ASCA, BSAX, ISO, IXAE and RXTE) has provided important results, and much more is expected to come from Chandra and XMM-Newton. In the further future, powerful instru mentation will come online in the sub-mm (ALMA) and gamma-rays (INTEG RAL), extending our coverage to important regions for the study of microquasars. Energy transport via relativistic jets is one of the most important physical mechan isms taking place in compact objects. Large efforts have been devoted to properly understand the disk-jet connection, and even the effects of rotation or magnetic fields. Several new important advances have been made recently, both from the point of view of the theoretical treatment of jets and the different new observational tests."

This book contains a set of articles based on a session of the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science held in San Francisco in February, 1974. The reason for the meeting arose from the need to communicate to the largest possible scientific community the dramatic advances which have been made in recent years in the understanding of collapsed objects: neutron stars and black holes. Thanks to an unprecedented resonance between X-ray, y-ray, radio and optical astronomy and important new theoretical developments in relativistic astro physics, a new deep understanding has been acquired of the physical processes oc curring in the late stages of evolution of stars. This knowledge may be one of the greatest conquests of man's understanding of nature in this century. This book aims to give an essential and up-to-date view in this field. The analysis of the physics and astrophysics of neutron stars and black holes is here attacked from both theoretical and experimental points of view. In the experimental field we range from the reviews and catalogues of galactic X-ray sources (R. Gursky and E. Schreier) and pulsars (E. Groth) to the observations of the optical counter part of X-ray sources (P. Boynton) to finally the recently discovered gamma-ray bursts (I. Strong) and pulse astronomy R. B. Partridge)."

This volume contains the papers and discussions at IAU Colloquium No. 21 on Variable Stars in Globular Clusters and in Related Systems held in Toronto on the 29th, 30th and 31st August 1972. It was the intention of the organizers that this meeting should honour the life long work in this field of Professor Helen Sawyer Hogg. She has been continuously active in observational research on variables in globular clusters for 46 years and her catalogues and bibliographies as well as her research papers, review articles and IA U reports as chairman of the committee on variable stars in clusters are of fundamental importance to all workers in this field. The scope of the colloquium covered both observational and theoretical aspects of the problem, including the relationship of variables to non-variable cluster members, the position of the variables in the HR diagram and their importance for problems of stellar evolution, empirical data on the variables, periods and period changes, and the relevant parts of pulsation theory. The meeting was particularly successful in bringing together observers and theorists. It will have achieved its object if it has shown both observers and theorists which are the problems most suitable for attack at the present time. The meeting clearly demonstrated the great importance of research on variables in globular clusters and related systems for our understanding both of stellar evolution and stellar pulsation.

MUL.APIN, written sometime before the 8th century BC, was the most widely copied astronomical text in ancient Mesopotamia: a compendium including information such as star lists, descriptions of planetary phases, mathematical schemes for the length of day and night, a discussion of the luni-solar calendar and rules for intercalation, and a short collection of celestial omens. This book contains an introductory essay, followed by a new edition of the text and a facing-page transliteration and English translation. Finally, the book contains a new and detailed commentary on the text. This is a fascinating study, and an important resource for anyone interested in the history of astronomy.