Interstellar matter is one of the most active fields of research in present-day astronomy. Observational information spans the full electromagnetic spectrum from gamma rays through rocket-ultraviolet, optical, infrared and millimeter to long radio waves. Results of research in physical chemistry find as much application as mathematical methods. Interstellar matter plays a leading role in studies of our Galaxy and of external galaxies, and contributes increasingly to stellar astronomy. At the 16th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, held in August 1976 in Grenoble,...

The Study of Travelling Interplanetary Phenomena (STIP) was formally established by the International Council of Scientific Unions' Special Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP) in August 1973 with M. Dryer as Convenor and M. A. Shea as Secretary. The scientific objec- tives of STIP are the study and search for understanding of quiet (i.e. normal or background) and active periods in the interplanetary medium. The concepts of informal, extemporaneous interdisciplinary research is continuo~sly emphasised, and these concepts have proved to be extremely successful in conducting the...

This book contains the lectures presented at the Summer Advanced Study School, 'Magnetospheric Particles and Fields' which was held at Graz, Austria during the period August 4-15, 1975. One hundred and one persons from fifteen different countries attended the Schoo!. The authors and publisher have made a special effort for rapid publication of an up-to- date status of particles, fields, and processes in planetary magnetospheres. Special thanks are due to the lecturers for their diligent preparation and excellent presentations. The in- dividuallectures and the published papers were...

Nine years ago, in 1967, a conference on spallation nuclear reactions and their applications in astrophysics was held at the University of Pennsylvania. I Since that time, a number of devel- opments have given renewed impetus to the study of spallation reactions. Among these are the successful acceleration of high- energy heavy ions in the laboratory and their potential use in cancer radiotherapy, the availability of returned lunar rocks containing records of past cosmic-ray irradiation, and the devel- opment of the theory that the spallation of interstellar matter is responsible for much of...

The widespread tendency in solar physics to divide the solar atmosphere into separate layers and to distinguish phenomena of solar activity from phenomena of the quiet Sun emphasizes the wide ranging diversity of physical conditions and events occurring in the solar atmosphere. This diversity spans the range from a neutral, essentially quiescent atmosphere to a highly ionized, violently convective atmosphere; from a domain in which magnetic field effects are unimportant to a domain in which the magnetic pressure exceeds the gas pressure, and from a domain in which the particle motions are...

This Catalog originated as a common enterprise of solar physicists and space scientists under the auspices of the Second Working Group of the Inter-Union Commission of Solar Terrestrial Physics (IUCSTP). It is a pleasure to acknowledge the support we received from the IUCSTP president, Dr H. Friedman, and the IUCSTPSecretary, Dr E. R. Dyer during the several years we have spent on this project. The aim of our work has been to assemble all observations of particle events from the first PCA observation in 1955 through two solar cycle maxima up to the end of 1969, in order to preserve these data...

The Symposium 'The Magnetospheres of the Earth and Jupiter' (May 28th-June 1st, 1974 in Frascati) was organized by the 'Laboratorio Plasma Spazio' of the CNR, on the occasion of its moving to the Frascati area. The main theoretical topic was to be covered by N. Brice, but he died on January 31st, in a plane crash at Pago Pago (Samoa). It seemed appropriate to all of us to honor Neil Brice by renaming the meeting: 'Neil Brice Memorial Symposium'. The Symposium covered problems of magnetospheric dynamics, of both the Earth and Jupiter, with emphasis on the comparison between the two objects....

This book contains the lectures presented at the Summer Advanced Study Institute, 'Physics and Chemistry of Atmospheres' which was held at the University of Liege, Belgium, during the period July 29-August 9, 1974. One-hundred nineteen persons from eleven different countries attended the Institute. The authors and publisher have made a special effort for rapid publication of an up- to-date status of the physics and chemistry ofthe atmospheres of Earth and the plan- ets, which is an ever-changing area. Special thanks are due to the lecturers for their diligent preparation and excellent...

The primary inducement for organizing an international Conference on 'Image Processing Techniques in_Astronomy' was the fact that the recording microdensitometer VAMP ('Vol Automatische Micro Photometer') of the Utrecht Astronomical Institute was operative for a few years. The necessity of comparing the in- strument and its performance with similar instruments nowadays available at many other institutes, was stimulating enough to organize a meeting on the above subject. It took place in Utrecht on March 25, 26 and 27, 1975. The Scientific Organizing Committee consisted of J. Borgman...

Over the past decade the study of the formation and properties of interstellar grains has assumed a growing importance, going much beyond what might have been guessed only a few years ago. It has come to be understood that grains playa role in processes other than the simple absorption and scattering of starlight, which was all that the astronomers of a generation aga considered to be their relevance. Grains indeed playa critical role in controlling the temperature, composition, and states of aggregation of the whole interstellar medium. Among the still mysterious problems is the origin of...