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Since ancient times, people have been trying to make sense of celestial bodies and phenomena. Early civilizations attempted to track the motions of stars, planets, and other objects, mapping their place in the sky. This laid the groundwork for the study of astronomy today, but advancements in fields such as physics, chemistry, and mathematics have led to exciting new astronomical discoveries in recent decades. This volume examines some of the discoveries that have impacted the field of astronomy—both impactful new innovations and historical findings that have changed the trajectory of research in the field. It also offers readers a better understanding of some of the methods used for making these discoveries.

This textbook provides the basic theoretical and practical knowledge of astronomy and astrophysics. It provides an overview from classical astronomy and observational methods to solar physics and astrophysics of stars and galaxies. It concludes with chapters on cosmology, astrobiology, and mathematical and numerical methods. Numerous color illustrations, examples of calculations, and exercises with solutions make this work a useful companion to undergraduate astronomy lectures.The book is suitable for students of physics and astronomy at teacher training level or in the Bachelor's degree - but also people interested in natural sciences with appropriate basic knowledge of mathematics and physics will find here an appealing introduction to the subject.This fourth edition has been updated and revised with respect to the latest developments in astronomy. The chapter on mathematical methods has been redesigned and the software used is now exclusively Python.From thecontents: Spherical astronomy - History of astronomy - Celestial mechanics - Astronomical instruments - Physics of the bodies of the solar system - The Sun - State variables of the stars - Stellar atmospheres - Stellar structure - Stellar evolution - Interstellar matter - The Galaxy - Extragalactic systems - Cosmology - Astrobiology - Mathematical methods.This book is a translation of the original German 4th edition Einführung in Astronomie und Astrophysik by Arnold Hanslmeier, published by Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature in 2020. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.

In this work, Prof. Arnold Hanslmeier provides modern and fascinating astronomical knowledge. The book begins with a description of the origin of the universe and goes on to dark matter, black holes and the formation of the solar system. Finally, it is rounded off at the end by the exciting question: Are we alone in the universe?In this book, which originated from a lecture given at the University of Graz for students of all faculties, the author explains the interrelationships clearly and in a generally understandable way with the help of many colourful pictures, without demanding too much basic knowledge of mathematics and physics. Somewhat deeper formulas and text passages are separated from the rest of the text and can be skipped without losing the context.This third edition incorporates new findings such as the spectacular direct discovery of gravitational waves, fascinating images and data from Pluto, and the first landing on a comet. Numerous new photographsand illustrations have been added to aid understanding. The latest data in the field of exoplanet research has also been incorporated.The book is intended not only for students, but also for interested laymen as well as for all those who deal with modern findings of natural science.'Physics, especially astrophysics, can be extremely exciting, I hope my readers gain just that impression by reading this book!'A. Hanslmeier

Embark on your own personal journey into the night sky. Stardate: Today! Ever catch yourself staring up at the night sky and wondering just what the heck is out there? While no one book can answer all your questions, Astronomy For Dummies will take you on a tour through the Milky Way (and beyond!) that describes some of the most fascinating objects in the universe. This book comes complete with online access to chapter quizzes and downloadable full-color astronomical photos of our universe, as well as easy-to-follow explanations of the eye-popping wonders and gorgeous interstellar objects that populate our solar system, galaxy, and universe. You'll find: Brand-new star charts for the northern and southern hemispheres, as well as descriptions of the latest tech tools for amateur astronomers Lists of the most recently discovered exoplanets, exomoons, and exocomets hurtling through the cosmos The latest timelines for dazzling solar events and maps to the best places to see them live and in-personFilled with discussions of the biggest and greatest new breakthroughs and an 8-page color insert packed with unbelievable, full-color photographs, Astronomy For Dummies is a can't-miss book that will ignite a passion for understanding the mysteries of the universe in children and adults alike!

This book is a comprehensive advancement about the understanding of the volcanology of Mars in all its aspects, from its primary formation to its evolution in time, from the smaller structures to the bigger structures. It discusses the implications of volcanism in the general environmental and geological context of Mars. The book is validating the Southern Giant Impact Hypothesis explaining the formation of Mars in an interdisciplinary approach, including mineralogical, geochemical, volcanological as well as geomorphological information. Implications for future explorations in terms of resources are provided. This book serves as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate level to foster new basic research in the field of planetary volcanology and is a new guide for future missions toward a volcanic world, including new detailed information for the general audience who is always keen to know more about the history of Mars and its large volcanoes. The book also presents an updated situation about the water resources of the planet.

Written by a leading expert on comets, this textbook is divided into seven main elements with a view to allowing advanced students to appreciate the interconnections between the different elements. The author opens with a brief introductory segment on the motivation for studying comets and the overall scope of the book. The first chapter describes fundamental aspects most usually addressed by ground-based observation. The author then looks at the basic physical phenomena in four separate chapters addressing the nucleus, the emitted gas, the emitted dust, and the solar wind interaction. Each chapter introduces the basic physics and chemistry but then new specific measurements by Rosetta instruments at comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko are brought in. A concerted effort has been made to distinguish between established fact and conjecture. Deviations and inconsistencies are brought out and their significance explained. Links to previous observations of comets Tempel 1, Wild 2, Hartley 2, Halley and others are made. The author then closes with three smaller chapters on related objects, the loss of comets, and prospects for future exploration. This textbook includes over 275 graphics and figures – most of which are original. Thorough explanations and derivations are included throughout the chapters. The text is therefore designed to support MSc. students and new PhD students in the field wanting to gain a solid overview of the state-of-the-art.

Whether you're interested in visiting Apollo landing sites or the locations of classic sci-fi movies, this is the tourist guide for you! This tourist guide has a twist – it is a guide to a whole different world, which you can visit from the comfort of your backyard with the aid of nothing more sophisticated than an inexpensive telescope. It tells you the best times to view the Moon, the most exciting sights to look out for, and the best equipment to use, allowing you to snap stunning photographs as well as view the sights with your own eyes. Have you ever been inspired by stunning images from the Hubble telescope, or the magic of sci-fi special effects, only to look through a small backyard telescope at the disappointing white dot of a planet or faint blur of a galaxy? Yet the Moon is different. Seen through even a relatively cheap'scope, it springs into life like a real place, with mountains and valleys and rugged craters. With a bit of imagination, you can even picture yourself as a sightseeing visitor there – which in a sense you are.

Your updated guide to exploring the night sky Do you know the difference between a red giant and a white dwarf? From asteroids to black holes, this easy-to-understand guide takes you on a grand tour of the universe. Featuring updated star maps, charts, and an insert with gorgeous full-color photographs, Astronomy For Dummies provides an easy-to-follow introduction to exploring the night sky. Plus, this new edition also comes with chapter quizzes online to help your understanding. For as long as people have been walking the earth, those people have looked up into the night sky and wondered about the nature of the cosmos. Without the benefit of science to provide answers, they relied on myth and superstition to help them make sense of what they saw. Lucky for us, we live at a time when regular folks, equipped with nothing more than their naked eyes, can look up into the night sky and gain admittance to infinite wonders. If you know what to look for, you can make out planets, stars, galaxies, and even galactic clusters comprising hundreds of millions of stars and spanning millions of light-years. Whether you're an amateur astronomer, space enthusiast, or enrolled in a first year astronomy course, Astronomy For Dummies gives you a reason to look into the heavens. Includes updated schedules of coming eclipses of the Sun and Moon and a revised planetary appendix Covers recent discoveries in space, such as water on the Moon and Pluto's demotion from'planet'status Collects new websites, lists of telescope motels, sky-watching guides, and suggestions for beginner's telescopes and suppliers Provides free online access to chapter quizzes to help you understand the content Ever wonder what's out there in the big ol'universe? This is the book for you!

Provides students and researchers with an easy-to-understand introduction to the fundamentals of astronomy.

Astronomical concepts can be truly hard to comprehend, especially those of planetary sizes and distances from Earth and from each other. These concepts are made more comprehensible by the group of illustrations in this book, which put scale extraterrestrial objects side by side with objects on Earth we can more easily relate to. For example, study the pictures of Earth floating above Jupiter's Great Red Spot and the asteroid Itokawa resting beside Toronto's CN Tower. These mind-bending images bring things better into perspective and will help you understand the size and scale of our Solar System. In later chapters, you will be told how close the visionaries of the past came to guessing what today's explorers would find. Astronomer/painter Lucien Rudaux's masterpieces of Mars dust storms anticipated Viking and Mars rover images by nearly a century. Space artist Ludek Pesek envisioned astronauts setting up camp on the lunar surface in scenes hauntingly similar to photos taken by Apollo astronauts decades later. But the real benefit of this work is in better grasping the nature of our universe -- how big it is, now large it is, and how we fit into it.

David Stevenson's new book links the meteorology of the Earth to that of other planets, stars, and clusters of galaxies, showing the similarities and differences between terrestrial weather and that of weather on other worlds. Because Earth is not unique in having weather, there is much to learn from other planets with atmospheres that show the movement of energy from hotter to colder areas. The weather seen on Earth and other known planetary systems are examined to elaborate the connection between climate and the development of life.The weather on Earth and other Solar System planets is a manifestation of the huge energy budget imparted by our star, the Sun, but weather doesn't stop at the shores of our Solar System. The author brings together the latest information from satellites and probes, such as Cassini and Hubble, to show its larger place in the astronomical picture. Inferences are drawn about the weather and climate of a large number of other planetary systems that liefar from our own. Additionally, the author expands our understanding of what exactly weather is comprised of by exploring the kind of “weather” experienced on the largest observable scales in the universe.

Cassini-Huygens was the most ambitious and successful space journey ever launched to the outer Solar System. This book examines all aspects of the journey: its conception and planning; the lengthy political processes needed to make it a reality; the engineering and development required to build the spacecraft; its 2.2-billion mile journey from Earth to the Ringed Planet and the amazing discoveries from the mission. The author traces how the visions of a few brilliant scientists matured, gained popularity and eventually became a reality. Innovative technical leaps were necessary to assemble such a multifaceted spacecraft and reliably operate it while it orbited a planet so far from our own. The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft design evolved from other deep space efforts, most notably the Galileo mission to Jupiter, enabling the voluminous, paradigm-shifting scientific data collected by the spacecraft. Some of these discoveries are absolute gems. A small satellite that scientists once thought of as a dead piece of rock turned out to contain a warm underground sea that could conceivably harbor life. And we now know that hiding under the mist of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is a world with lakes, fluvial channels, and dunes hauntingly reminiscent of those on our own planet, except that on Titan, it's not water that fills those lakes but hydrocarbons. These and other breakthroughs illustrate why the Cassini-Huygens mission will be remembered as one of greatest voyages of discovery ever made.

Over the past decade, astronomers, planetary scientists, and cosmologists have answered - or are closing in on the answers to - some of the biggest questions about the universe. David J. Eicher presents a spectacular exploration of the cosmos that provides a balanced and precise view of the latest discoveries. Detailed and entertaining narratives on compelling topics such as how the Sun will die, the end of life on Earth, why Venus turned itself inside-out, the Big Bang Theory, the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, and the meaning of life in the universe are supported by numerous color illustrations including photos, maps and explanatory diagrams. In each chapter the author sets out the scientific history of a specific question or problem, before tracing the modern observations and evidence in order to solve it. Join David J. Eicher on this fascinating journey through the cosmos!

'Twenty-Five Astronomical Observations That Changed the World'takes twenty-five journeys through space, back in time and into human history. We begin with the simplest sight of the Tycho Crater on the Moon, through a repeat of Galileo's observations of Jupiter's moons, and then move out towards the nebulae, stars, and galaxies. The astronomical observations repeat the original groundbreaking discoveries that have changed our understanding of science and ourselves. This title contains graded observing challenges from the straightforward to the more difficult (in chapter order). It offers clear observing tips and lots of practical help, presuming no prior in-depth knowledge of equipment. Binoculars and/or a small astronomical telescope are all that is required for most of the observations. Secondly, it explores for each observation the science of what is seen, adding to the knowledge and enjoyment of amateur astronomers and offering lots of reading for the cloudy nights when there is not a star in view. Thirdly, the book puts the amateur astronomers'observations into a wider perspective.'Twenty-Five Astronomical Observations That Changed the World'makes the observer part of that great story of discovery. Each chapter, each observing challenge, shows how to observe and then how to look with understanding. The projects begin with practicalities: where the object is, how best is it observed and with what appropriate equipment (usually a small-to-medium aperture amateur telescope, binoculars, even the naked eye).'Twenty-Five Astronomical Observations that Changed the World'guides even the inexperienced amateur astronomer - beginners can use the book - around a variety of night-sky objects, and reminds the more experienced how they can best be seen. These practical observations put us in contact with all the history and culture surrounding them: through scientific speculation and literature to those first fuzzy images made in 1959 by the Russian space probe Luna 3.

Designed to meet the needs of both general readers and students, The Solar System Singles cover all major topics on Earth's solar system as it is understood from the latest perspectives. Each of the 35-45 essays begins with standard, ready-reference information. An'Overview'section details basic information about the subject and discusses the main facts about the topic.'Knowledge Gained/Methods of Study/Applications'details how the topic is investigated, what scientific knowledge we have accumulated, or the uses of the knowledge we have gained.'Context'addresses the topic from the larger perspective of the history of solar-system science and its relevance for humankind.'Further Reading'is an annotated selection of the most important print resources for further study. Lastly,'See Also'lists cross-references to other essays in the set. Each set is heavily illustrated.

Oceans were long thought to exist in all corners of the Solar System, from carbonated seas percolating beneath the clouds of Venus to features on the Moon's surface given names such as'the Bay of Rainbows” and the'Ocean of Storms.'With the advent of modern telescopes and spacecraft exploration these ancient concepts of planetary seas have, for the most part, evaporated. But they have been replaced by the reality of something even more exotic. For example, although it is still uncertain whether Mars ever had actual oceans, it now seems that a web of waterways did indeed at one time spread across its surface. The'water'in many places in our Solar System is a poisoned brew mixed with ammonia or methane. Even that found on Jupiter's watery satellite Europa is believed similar to battery acid. Beyond the Galilean satellites may lie even more'alien oceans.'Saturn's planet-sized moon Titan seems to be subject to methane or ethane rainfall. This creates methane pools that, in turn, become vast lakes and, perhaps, seasonal oceans. Titan has other seas in a sense, as large shifting areas of sand covering vast plains have been discovered. Mars also has these sand seas, and Venus may as well, along with oceans of frozen lava. Do super-chilled concoctions of ammonia, liquid nitrogen, and water percolate beneath the surfaces of Enceladus and Triton? For now we can only guess at the possibilities.'Alien Seas'serves up part history, part current research, and part theory as it offers a rich buffet of'seas'on other worlds. It is organized by location and by the material of which various oceans consist, with guest authors penning specific chapters. Each chapter features new original art depicting alien seas, as well as the latest ground-based and spacecraft images. Original diagrams presents details of planetary oceans and related processes.

The fun and easy way to explore the night sky Do you know the difference between a red giant and a white dwarf? From asteroids to black holes, this easy-to-understand guide takes you on a grand tour of the universe. Featuring updated star maps, charts, and an insert with gorgeous full-color photographs, Astronomy For Dummies provides an easy-to-follow introduction to the night sky. Plus, this new edition also gives you the latest theories, explanations, and insights into the basic workings of the universe. Includes updated schedules of coming eclipses of the Sun and Moon and a revised planetary appendix Covers recent discoveries in space, such as water on the Moon and Pluto's demotion from'planet'status Collects new websites, lists of telescope motels, sky-watching guides, and suggestions for beginner's telescopes and suppliers Brings you up-to-speed on the latest social trends and personal technology, such as stargazing mobile apps, NASA video, and the prevalence of'Citizen Science'networks Whether you're an amateur astronomer, space enthusiast, or enrolled in a first year astronomy course, Astronomy For Dummies has you covered.

Since the publication of The New Science of Astrobiology in the year 2001—the first edition of the present book—two significant events have taken place raising the subject from the beginning of the present century to its present maturity. Firstly, in 2001 the Galileo Mission still had two years to complete its task, which turned out to be an outstanding survey of the Jovian system, especially of its intriguing satellite Europa. Secondly, the Cassini Huygens Mission was still on its way to Saturn. Its present success has surpassed all expectations of ESA and NASA. Astrobiologists still did not know that Titan was the fifth body in the Solar System that possibly contained a water ocean (including the Earth and the three Galilean satellites other than Io). For these reasons the book includes overviews of the evolutionary and molecular biology that are necessary. There is a discussion of other sectors of culture that are the natural frontiers of astrobiology, especially the humanities.

Ever since the Montgolfier's hot air balloon carried a chicken, a goat, and a duck into the Parisian skies, scientists have dreamed of contraptions to explore the atmosphere. With the advent of the space age, new airborne inventions were needed. From the Soviet Venus balloons to the advanced studies of blimps and airplanes for the atmospheres of Mars and Titan, Drifting on Alien Winds surveys the many creative and often wacky ideas for exploring alien skies. Through historical photographs and stunning original paintings by the author, readers also explore the weather on planets and moons, from the simmering acid-laden winds of Venus to liquid methane-soaked skies of Titan.

A photographic feast serves up imagery and information about all things cosmic: from planets, moons, and comets, to black holes, nebulae, distant solar systems, and more.Following on the incredible success of the One Million Things series, this spectacular book features dynamic photographs that beautifully showcase the stars, moons, asteroids, spacecraft, satellites, and brand-new discoveries that make up our universe. There are millions of things to learn about space!

Provides coverage of all major aspects of Earth's solar system, from major planets to their satellites, small bodies, interplanetary phenomena, and cosmological context.

In Unmasking Europa, Richard Greenberg tells the story of how he and his team of researchers came to believe that the surface of Europa is in fact a crust so thin and active that it can barely hide an ocean of liquid water below. He shows how this ocean is warmed by the friction of tidal movements in this small moon as it revolves while at the same time orbiting immense Jupiter, and how those tides drive all the activity in evidence on the surface. The implications of this interpretation—which includes the idea that there are active intermittent openings from the liquid ocean to the frozen surface—are immense. The warmth, the chemistry, and the connections from ocean to surface provide the conditions necessary for the existence of life, even at this relatively remote locale in our solar system, far beyond what's normally thought of as its'habitable zone.'Unmasking Europa describes in clear but technically accurate terms—and with extensive illustrations (including more than 100 NASA mission images)—the remarkable history of research on Europa over the last four decades. The book also provides unique insights into how'big science'gets done today, and it is not always a pretty picture. From his perspective as a Professor of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona, and a quarter-century-long membership on the Imaging Team for the Galileo space mission, Greenberg describes how personal agendas (including his own) and political maneuvering (in which he received an education by fire) determined a lot about the funding, staffing, and even the direction of research about Europa. While he is satisfied that his team's work is now, finally, receiving fair consideration and even respect, Greenberg comes away from his decades-long experience feeling that something is fundamentally wrong with the scientific enterprise as a whole because it routinely punishes innovation, risk-taking thought, and a willingness to simply letthe evidence lead where it may. In today's scientific culture, with its careerist pressures and peer-reviewed propriety, Greenberg believes, astute scientists (and sadly many of our youngest and brightest scientists) quickly realize that the most rewarding research strategy is to stay within the mainstream—a tendency that by its very nature is at odds with the ideals of scientific investigation and thought.

CHAPTER 1: DISCOVERING DISTANT WORLDS 3 CHAPTER 2: MERCURY: THE IRON PLANET 21 CHAPTER 3: VENUS: THE RUNAWAY GREENHOUSE 45 CHAPTER 4: THE MOON: QUEEN OF THE NIGHT 69 5: MARS: THE RED PLANET CHAPTER 101 CHAPTER 6: ASTEROIDS: VERMIN OF THE SKIES 129 CHAPTER 7: JUPITER: KING OF THE PLANETS 147 CHAPTER 8: SATURN: LIGHTWEIGHT LORD OF THE RINGS 185 CHAPTER 9: URANUS: THE TOPPLED GIANT 217 CHAPTER 10: NEPTUNE: THE LAST GIANT 237 CHAPTER 11: PLUTO: KING OF THE KUIPER BELT 257 CHAPTER 12: COMETS: COSMIC ICEBERGS 269 APPENDICES 1: Lunar and Planetary Missions 285 2: Planetary Data 298 3: Satellite Data 299 4: Planetary Rings 305 5: The Largest Known Kuiper Belt Objects 307 6: Lunar and Planetary Firsts 308 7: Selected Reading List 310 8: Selected Websites 314 INDEX 317 VII Until about 500 years ago, the Earth was believed to lie at Pluto and its recently discovered, larger cousin in the far the center of the Universe, with the Sun and five planets reaches of the Sun's realm. For the first time, human eyes revolving around it. The planets themselves were merely have been able to see towering cliffs, dust devils, erupting points of light that drifted across the stellar constellations.

Astronomers'observing guides provide up-to-date information for amateur astronomers who want to know all about what it is they are observing. This is the basis of the first part of the book. The second part details observing techniques for practical astronomers, working with a range of different instruments.

This book is for two groups of people: those who want to study the remote planets with amateur astronomical equipment, and those who are just interested in learning about our knowledge of the remote planets. The Remote Planets, and How to Observe them is unique in that it gives a completely up-to-date summary of our current knowledge of the remote planets, and also explains how amateur astronomers can contribute to our knowledge of the remote planets. Readers are given some inspiring examples of people who, with modest commercially-made equipment, have made important contributions to our scientific knowledge. The observational section goes into great detail, including optical and CCD photometry, occultation measurements, imaging (including stacking and enhancement techniques) and polarization measurements. There are finder charts (from 2010 to 2026), complete with two sets of star-magnitudes in an appendix (one set of magnitudes are for photoelectric photometry and the other set is for visual photometry)

The search for life outside the Earth has been one of mankind's most challenging quests. We have reached a level of technology that allows for initial steps toward thorough scientific investigation. The aim of this workshop was to take an interdisciplinary look at the signatures that would be indicative of past or present life on another planet and compare them to biosignatures on Earth. The purpose of the workshop was also to discuss state-of-the-art in-situ instruments that are envisioned to search for these signatures in the exploration of the solar system, as well as the discussion of concepts descriptive of the search for habitable planets around other stars. This book is intended to provide a reference to scientists and instrument developers working in the field of in-situ and remote life detection. It can also be used as an interdisciplinary introduction for students and post-doctoral researchers entering this new and exciting field.

Cassini At Saturn – Huygens Results brings the story of the Cassini-Huygens mission and their joint exploration of the Saturnian system right up to date. Cassini entered orbit around Saturn June 2004 so this update includes 8 months of scientific data available for review, including the most spectacular images of Saturn, its rings and satellites ever obtained by a space mission. As the Cassini spacecraft approached its destination in spring 2004, the quality of the images already being returned by the spacecraft clearly demonstrated the spectacular nature of the close-range views that will be obtained. The book contains a 16-page colour section, comprising a carefully chosen selection of the most stunning images to be released during the spacecraft's initial period of operation. The Huygens craft, released by Cassini, parachuted through the clouds of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in January 2005. David Harland tells the exciting story of the this craft's journey to the surface of one of the most enigmatic bodies on the Solar System, the only moon to have a dense atmosphere and possibly lakes of liquid gas at -190ºC on its surface. Titan is considered to be an early Earth in deep freeze, possibly with the building blocks of life in its atmosphere. There will undoubtedly be enormous interest in the first results and images of Titan's surface, and this book is the first incisive summary of this groundbreaking material.

The aim of the Space Exploration - 2007 is to provide an annual update on recent space launches, missions and results, to be published every year in September. The annual will cover space exploration from a variety of angles: looking back at past missions, reviewing those currently under way and looking to those planned for the future. The ten invited contributions each year will cover a variety of topics within these areas, to appeal to a wide readership. The regular set features, which will appear every year, will include records noting satellite and rocket launches in the previous year and satellite recoveries; analysis of developments and emerging trends in space exploration; notes on records and main feats during the year; basic data on all launchers currently in operation; schedules of upcoming missions; anniversaries and landmarks.

This book, the first in a series of forthcoming volumes, consists of topical and timely reviews of a number of carefully selected topics in solar systemn science. Contributions, in form of up-to-date reviews, are mainly aimed at professional astronomers and planetary scientists wishing to inform themselves about progress in fields closely related to their own field of expertise.

Stars are born and die in clouds of gas and dust, opaque to most types of radiation, but transparent in the infrared. Requiring complex detectors, space missions and cooled telescopes, infrared astronomy is the last branch of this discipline to come of age. After a very successful sky survey performed in the eighties by the IRAS satellite, the Infrared Space Observatory, in the nineties, brought spectacular advances in the understanding of the processes giving rise to powerful infrared emission by a great variety of celestial sources. Outstanding results have been obtained on the bright comet Hale-Bopp, and in particular of its water spectrum, as well as on the formation, chemistry and dynamics of planetary objects in the solar system. Ideas on the early stages of stellar formation and on the stellar initial mass function have been clarified.

In this highly accessible book, leading scientists from around the world give a general overview of research advances in their subject areas within the field of Astronomy. They describe some of their own cutting-edge research and give their visions of the future. Re-written in a popular and well-illustrated style, the articles are mainly derived from scholarly and authoritative papers published in special issues of the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions, the world's longest running scientific journal. Carefully selected by the journal's editor, topics include the Big Bang creation of the universe, the formation and evolution of the stars and galaxies, cold dark matter, explosive sun-spot events, and humankind's exploration of the solar system. The book conveys the excitement and enthusiasm of the authors for their work at the frontiers of astronomy. All are definitive reviews for people with a general interest in the future directions of science.