Several major breakthroughs in the last decade have helped contribute to the emerging field of astrobiology. Focusing on these developments, this fascinating book explores some of the most important problems in this field. It examines how planetary systems formed, and how water and the biomolecules necessary for life were produced. It then focuses on how life may have originated and evolved on Earth. Building on these two themes, the final section takes the reader on a search for life elsewhere in the Solar System. It presents the latest results of missions to Mars and Titan, and explores the possibilities of life in the ice-covered ocean of Europa. This interdisciplinary book is an enjoyable overview of this exciting field for students and researchers in astrophysics, planetary science, geosciences, biochemistry, and evolutionary biology. Colour versions of some of the figures are available at www.cambridge.org/9780521875486.

This volume helps the reader to understand the ways and means of how dynamical phenomena are generated at the Sun, how they travel through the Heliosphere, and how they affect Earth. It provides an integrated account of the three principal chains of events all the way from the Sun to Earth: the normal solar wind, coronal mass ejections, and solar energetic particles.

Cathodoluminescence microscopy/spectroscopy is a powerful technique providing detailed information on the shock metamorphism of target rocks, biosignatures of meteorites and mineralogy of the pre-solar grains. Moreover, it can be used as an in-situ method to classify the solid-atmospheric-liquid interactions on the surface of Mars.

An asteroid or comet will inevitably strike the Earth some day, and potentially cause great destruction. This volume considers hazards due to collisions with cosmic objects, particularly in light of recent investigations of impacts by the authors. Each chapter, written by an expert, contains an overview of an aspect and new findings in the field. Coverage describes and numerically estimates the main hazardous effects.

Based on data from an experiment which ran for ten years, this book summarizes the results of the Atmospheric Physics Department of the St. Petersburg University and the Main Geophysical Observatory. The processed data now forms a rich dataset of spectral values of radiative characteristics under different atmospheric conditions. The analysis of this database clearly shows that the solar radiative absorption in a dusty and cloudy atmosphere is significantly higher than assumed to date. Both graduate students of atmospheric sciences as well as scientists and researchers in the field of meteorology and climatology will find a wealth of new data and information in this monograph.

Studies of stellar formation in galaxies have a profound impact on our understanding of the present and the early universe. The book describes complex physical processes involved in the creation of stars and during their young lives. It illustrates how these processes reveal themselves from radio wavelengths to high energy X-rays and gamma -rays, with special reference towards high energy signatures. Several sections devoted to key analysis techniques demonstrate how modern research in this field is pursued.

From the reviews:

.."...The book is a very good balance between theory and applications, of analysis and synthesis, keeping always the focus on the comprehension of the physics ruling our planetary system.

In summary, this represents both an excellent textbook for students and a fundamental reference, and encyclopedic summary current knowledge, for researchers in the Solar System field." (Alessandro Rossi, Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, 2005)

This book represents the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute which was held at Bonas from August 25 till Sep tember 5, 1980 and was devoted to the study of "Solar Phenomena in Stars and Stellar Systems." It is intended for a broad audi ence. Students and post-doctoral scientists for example can dis cover new aspects of astrophysics. The general spirit of the ASI was aimed at presenting a unified aspect of astrophysical phenomena which can be studied intensively on the Sun although they are of a much more general nature. On the other hand, spe cialists in solar or stellar physics will find here the latest theoretical developments and/or the most recent observations made in their own field of research. An extensive bibliography will be found throughout the various sections, to which the reader may refer, for more detailed developments in various specific areas. In the past, stellar and solar astrophysics have more or less followed their own independent tracks. However, with the rapid development of modern techniques, in particular artificial satellites like the International Ultraviolet Explorer and the Einstein Observatory, which provide a new wealth of data, it appears that chromospheres, coronae, magnetic fields, mass loss and stellar winds, etc . . . ., are found not only in the Sun but occur also in other stars. Frequently these other stars represent quite different conditions of gravity, lumino ity, and other parameters from those occurring in the Sun."

Cometography is a multi-volume catalog of every comet observed throughout history. Volume 3 provides a complete discussion of every comet seen during the first part of the twentieth century. Cometography uses the most reliable orbits known to determine the distances from the Earth and Sun at the time a comet was discovered and last observed, as well as the largest and smallest angular distance to the Sun, most northerly and southerly declination, closest distance to the Earth, and other details to enable the reader to understand the physical appearance of each well-observed comet. The book also provides non-technical details to help the reader better appreciate how the comet may have influenced various cultures at the time of its appearance. Cometography will be valuable to historians of science as well as providing amateur and professional astronomers with a definitive reference on comets through the ages.

The most powerful volcanoes in the Solar System are not on Earth, but on Io, a tiny moon of Jupiter. Whilst Earth and Io are the only bodies in the Solar System to have active, high-temperature volcanoes, those found on Io are larger, hotter, and more violent. This, the first book dedicated to volcanism on Io, contains the latest results from Galileo mission data analysis. As well as investigating the different styles and scales of volcanic activity on Io, it compares these volcanoes to their contemporaries on Earth. The book also provides a background to how volcanoes form and how they erupt, and explains quantitatively how remote-sensing data from spacecraft and telescopes are analysed to reveal the underlying volcanic processes. This richly illustrated book will be a fascinating reference for advanced undergraduates, graduate students and researchers in planetary sciences, volcanology, remote sensing and geology.

Dynamic Sun presents a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the Sun, from its deep core to the outer corona, and the solar wind. Each chapter is written by leading scientists in solar physics. Chapters deal with solar models and neutrinos, seismic Sun, rotation of the solar interior, helioseismic tomography, solar dynamo, spectro-polarimetry, solar photosphere and convection, dynamics and heating of the solar chromosphere, solar transition region, solar MHD, solar activity, particle acceleration, radio observations of explosive energy releases on the Sun, coronal seismology, coronal heating, VUV solar plasma diagnostics and the solar wind. Solar observing facilities are presented in the last chapter. With an introduction by eminent astrophysicist Eugene Parker, the twenty chapters of this book are all fully illustrated and have comprehensive reference lists. The book covers all major topics in solar physics, and is suitable for graduate students and researchers in solar physics, astrophysics and astronomy.

Like the Earth and planets, stars rotate. Understanding how stars rotate is central to modelling their structure, formation and evolution, and how they interact with their environment and companion stars. This authoritative volume, first published in 2000, provides a lucid introduction to stellar rotation and the definitive reference to the subject. It combines theory and observation in a comprehensive survey of how the rotation of stars affects the structure and evolution of the Sun, single stars and close binaries. This book will be of primary interest to graduate students and researchers studying solar and stellar rotation and close binary systems. It will also appeal to those with a more general interest in solar and stellar physics, star formation, binary stars and the hydrodynamics of rotating fluids - including geophysicists, planetary scientists and plasma physicists.

This volume of lecture notes brings together the knowledge on pulsations of the Sun and the stars, with a particular emphasis on recent observations and modelling, and on the influence of pulsations of other physical processes. The book begins with an extensive introduction to helioseismology. The solar cycle and gravity modes are discussed before the focus is widened from helioseismology to asteroseismology which is detailed in a series of specific chapters. Based on courses given at a graduate school, these tutorial lecture notes will be of interest and useful to a rather broad audience of scientists and students.

This comprehensive volume authoritatively describes our understanding of the complex and fascinating jovian system. Written by a team of world experts, it brings together every aspect of the giant planetary system, from the deep interior of Jupiter to the distant tiny satellites and swarms of escaping gas and dust. Chapters present a synthesis of experimental data from the Voyager, Galileo and Cassini missions, from telescopes on the ground and in space, and from theoretical models on the different components that make up the Jupiter system. This book is a valuable introduction for graduate students and an indispensable resource for all researchers in planetary science.

Our knowledge of Mars has grown enormously over the last decade as a result of the Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and the two Mars Rover missions. This book is a systematic summary of what we have learnt about the geological evolution of Mars as a result of these missions. It describes the diverse Martian surface features and summarizes current ideas as to how, when, and under what conditions they formed, and explores how Earth and Mars differ and why the two planets evolved so differently. The author also discusses possible implications of the geologic history for the origin and survival of indigenous Martian life. Up-to-date and highly illustrated, this book will be a principal reference for researchers and graduate students in planetary science. The comprehensive list of references will also assist readers in pursuing further information on the subject. Colour images can be found at www.cambridge.org/9780521872010.

Micrometeorites played an essential role in the formation of the atmosphere of the Early Earth and also served as a significant source of activation for organic prebiotic chemistry on mineral surfaces. The present book gives a coherent account of this scenario, embedding the more specific results within a broader framework that considers the creation and evolution of the Early Earth. It thus addresses students and nonspecialist researchers in the fields of planetary atmospheres, biogeophysics and astrobiology. The experienced researcher will find this volume to be a modern and compact reference, as well as a source of material for lectures in this field.

This volume consists of papers developed from a joint ACE/ISSI symposium at the occasion of the eightieth birthday of Johannes Geiss. The symposium explored insights into the composition of solar-system and galactic matter that have been brought about by recent space missions, ground-based studies, and theoretical advances. Coverage includes linking primordial to solar composition, planetary samples, solar sources and fractionation processes, and interstellar gas and Cosmic rays.

The reader will find in this volume the Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute held in Maratea-Acquafredda, Italy, between June 29 and July 12, 1997, entitledTHE DYNAMICS OF SMALL BODIES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM: A MAJOR KEY TO SOLAR SYSTEM STUDIES . This Advanced Study Institute was the latest in the 'Cortina' series of NATO ASI's begun in the early 1970's firstly under the directorship of Professor Victor Szebehely and subsequently under Professor Archie Roy. All, except the latest, were held at the Antonelli Institute, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Many of those now active in the field made their first international contacts at these Institutes. The Institutes bring together many of the brightest of our young people working in dynamical astronomy, celestial mechanics and space science, enabling them to obtain an up-to-date synoptic view of their subjects delivered by lecturers of high international reputation. The proceedings from these institutes have been well-received in the internationalcommunity of research workers in the disciplines studied. The present institute included 15 series of lectures given by invited speakers and some 45 presentations made by the other participants. The majority of these contributions are includedinthese proceedings.

The spectacular collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in July 1994 was a unique event in the history of observational astronomy. With a year's advance warning, astronomers and planetary scientists around the world were able to co-ordinate an observing campaign to track the event in unprecedented detail. A year after the event, a workshop at the Space Telescope Science Institute provided the first opportunity for them to bring together their observations and found a new understanding of the impact. Based on this meeting, sixteen invited reviews from authors selected as international leaders in the study of the impact and its aftermath are presented in this volume. The chapters have been edited and arranged to provide a thorough and comprehensive overview of our knowledge of the event. While our understanding of the impact will evolve with future work, this book provides a solid foundation for new insights that will follow. It will be a standard reference for graduate students and researchers in astronomy and planetary science.

The Joint European and National Astronomical Meeting (JENAM) of 2002, was held in Porto - Portugal (2-7 September 2002), corresponding to the I ph Meeting of the European Astronomical Society (EAS) and the IJ! En- contra Nacional de Astronomia e Astroftsica (12ENAA) of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Astronomia (SPA). Portugal has a small and young community of researchers in Astronomy. This meeting have had an important role in marking the beginning of what we expect to be a new phase for Astronomy in Portugal. The fact that we have chosen to address '"the future" reflects this will of the Portuguese com- munity to share and discuss our commitment for the next decades with our colleagues. The meeting, titled "The Unsolved Universe: Challenges for the Fu- ture", aimed at discussing some of the major research programmes and objec- tives for the next decades. The scientific programme included the plenary ses- sions (invited reviews and highlight talks), whose contributions are published in this book, and several workshops on more specific topics.

This fascinating book reviews the progress made in Mercury studies since the flybys by Mariner 10 in 1974-75. Thus far, it is the only book on Mercury which balances a wide range of Earth-based observations, made under difficult conditions, with the only available space-based data. The text is based on continued research using the Mariner 10 archive, on observations from Earth, and on increasingly realistic models of this mysterious planet s interior evolution."

The biological effects of asteroid and comet impacts have been widely viewed as primarily destructive. The role of an impactor in the K/T boundary extinctions has had a particularly important influence on thinking concerning the role of impacts in ecological and biological changes. th During the 10 and final workshop of the ESF IMPACT program during March 2003, we sought to investigate the wider aspects of the involvement of impact events in biological processes, including the beneficial role of these events from the prebiotic through to the ecosystem level. The ESF IMPACT programme (1998-2003) was an interdisciplinary effort that is aimed at understanding impact processes and their effects on the Earth environment, including environmental, geological and biological changes. The IMPACT programme has 15 member states and the activities of the programme range from workshops to short courses on topics such as impact stratigraphy, shock metamorphism, etc. The program has also awarded mobility grants and been involved in the development of teaching aids and numerous publications, including this one.

This volume presents peer-reviewed papers from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Atmospheric Boundary Layers held in April 2006. The papers are divided into thematic sessions: nature and theory of turbulent boundary layers; boundary-layer flows: modeling and applications to environmental security; nature, theory and modeling of boundary-layer flows; air flows within and above urban and other complex canopies: air-sea-ice interaction.

An International Conference entitled "Close Binaries in the 21st Century: New Opportunities and Challenges," was held in Syros island, Greece, from 27 to 30 June, 2005.

There are many binary star systems whose components are so close together, that they interact in various ways. Stars in such systems do not pass through all stages of their evolution independently of each other; in fact their evolutionary path is significantly affected by their companions. Processes of interaction include gravitational effects, mutual irradiation, mass exchange, mass loss from the system, phenomena of extended atmospheres, semi-transparent atmospheric clouds, variable thickness disks and gas streams.

The zoo of Close Binary Systems includes: Close Eclipsing Binaries (Detached, Semi-detached, Contact), High and Low-Mass X-ray Binaries, Cataclysmic Variables, RS CVn systems, Pulsar Binaries and Symbiotic Stars. The study of these binaries triggered the development of new branches of astrophysics dealing with the structure and evolution of close binaries and the interaction effects displayed by these exciting objects. Close Binaries are classic examples of the fundamental contribution that stellar astrophysics makes to our general understanding of physical processes in the universe.

Ground-based and space surveys will discover many new close binaries, which were previously unknown. In the future, new approaches will also be possible with highly efficient photometric searches looking for very shallow eclipses, such as those produced by Earth-like extra-solar planets.

Contributions to this conference covered the latest achievements in the field and reflected the state of the art of the dynamically evolving area of binary star research.

Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets is a unique handbook for astronomers interested in observing meteor storms and outbursts. Spectacular displays of 'shooting stars' are created when the Earth's orbit crosses a meteoroid stream, as each meteoroid causes a bright light when it enters our atmosphere at high speed. Jenniskens, an active meteor storm chaser, explains how meteoroid streams originate from the decay of meteoroids, comets and asteroids, and how they cause meteor showers on Earth. He includes the findings of recent space missions to comets and asteroids, the risk of meteor impacts on Earth, and how meteor showers may have seeded the Earth with ingredients that made life possible. All known meteor showers are identified, accompanied by fascinating details on the most important showers and their parent comets. The book predicts when exceptional meteor showers will occur over the next fifty years, making it a valuable resource for both amateur and professional astronomers.