This unique handbook explains how astronomical data of all kinds should be obtained, compiled, and published if it is to be used to the best advantage by professional astronomers worldwide. Introductory chapters explain how observations are obtained, discuss observatories, and deal with data generally. The central part of the book explains how data are archived and how they should be presented for later use. One chapter raised the important issue of the designation, or naming, of astronomical objects, since this is a topic where confusion is manifest. A further chapter is devoted to...

The idea of having a meeting came to the Editors when working on several aspects of galactic Be and B e] stars. They found that a general summary of the properties of B e] stars was missing, so that the organiza tion of a first meeting on these objects appeared as very useful. B e] stars have hydrogen line emission and forbidden Fe 11] and 0 I] emission lines in their spectra; they are also characterized by a strong IR excess due to circumstellar dust. Having a large amount of extinction in the UV and the visual they have been less frequently observed than other emission line objects....