How does it happen that billions of stars can cooperate to produce the beautiful spirals that characterize so many galaxies, including ours? This book reviews the history behind the discovery of spiral galaxies and the problems faced when trying to explain the existence of spiral structure within them. In the book, subjects such as galaxy morphology and structure are addressed as well as several models for spiral structure. The evidence in favor or against these models is discussed. The book ends by discussing how spiral structure can be used as a proxy for other properties of spiral galaxies, such as their dark matter content and their central supermassive black hole masses, and why this is important.

The idea of the organization of a Symposium on Spiral Structure came at a special meeting of Commission 33 on Spiral Structure during the 12th General Assembly of the IAU in Prague, 1967. So much interest was shown during this meeting that one of us proposed a special Symposium on the 'Spiral Structure of Our Galaxy' for 1969. The response was immediate and it was finally agreed upon holding the Symposium in Basel, a center of galactic research in the center of Europe. During the next months a special 'List of Problems', related to this Symposium, was sent to many prospective participants by the president of Commission 33. This stimulated an increase of interest in problems of galactic spiral structure and a con centrated effort on some problems. The organizing Committee of the Symposium was composed of Drs. L. Woltjer (president), W. Becker, A. Blaauw, B. J. Bok, G. Contopoulos, F. J. Kerr, C. C. Lin, S. W. McCuskey and S. B. Pikel'ner. Most of the work for the organization of the Symposium was carried by Dr. L. W oltjer. The Local Committee, composed of Drs. W. Becker, U. W. Steinlin, R. P. Fenkart, and G. A. Tammann, made every effort to secure the success of the Symposium. Most of the credit goes to Dr. Steinlin. The Symposium was supported financially by the IAU and by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The meetings took place at the University of Basel, which provided also secretarial help and many other facilities.

Tour the incredible scope of the cosmos as we know it with the editor in chief of Astronomy, featuring jaw-dropping illustrations and full-color photography from the magazine’s archives, much of it never before published. “The natural history of the galaxies is majestic and deserves its own David Attenborough. In David Eicher, it may have just found him.”—Richard Dawkins Journey to the edges of our galaxy and beyond with one of the most widely recognized astronomy experts as your guide. Delve into the history of stargazing and space observation, learn how black holes power galaxies, and understand the classification of the different galaxy types. This illuminating book—with artful illustrations and never-before-seen space photography—will open your mind to the wonders of the universe that await.

'Bite-sized, cutting edge science delivered with enormous enthusiasm - all you need to travel the cosmos' CHRIS LINTOTT 'A lot of astrophysics is packed into this neat little book . . . I guarantee you will come away knowing your dark matter from your supermassive black holes' JIM AL-KHALILI This book is for anyone who wants to easily understand the mind-blowing fundamentals of our extraordinary, expanding universe. Written by Oxford astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst and composed of ten captivating, simple essays, it guides you swiftly through the galaxies, explaining the mysteries of black holes, dark matter and what existed before the Big Bang, presenting the evidence as to whether we really are alone, illuminating what we still don't know, and much more besides. If you have big questions about Space, this book will provide you with the answers in an engaging and succinct way.

This review examines all the key physical processes involved in the formation and evolution of the Milky Way, based on an international meeting held in Granada (Spain).

A grand tour of our dynamic home galaxy This book offers an intimate guide to the Milky Way, taking readers on a grand tour of our home Galaxy's structure, genesis, and evolution, based on the latest astronomical findings. In engaging language, it tells how the Milky Way congealed from blobs of gas and dark matter into a spinning starry abode brimming with diverse planetary systems—some of which may be hosting myriad life forms and perhaps even other technologically communicative species. William Waller vividly describes the Milky Way as it appears in the night sky, acquainting readers with its key components and telling the history of our changing galactic perceptions. The ancients believed the Milky Way was a home for the gods. Today we know it is but one galaxy among billions of others in the observable universe. Within the Milky Way, ground-based and space-borne telescopes have revealed that our Solar System is not alone. Hundreds of other planetary systems share our tiny part of the vast Galaxy. We reside within a galactic ecosystem that is driven by the theatrics of the most massive stars as they blaze through their brilliant lives and dramatic deaths. Similarly effervescent ecosystems of hot young stars and fluorescing nebulae delineate the graceful spiral arms in our Galaxy's swirling disk. Beyond the disk, the spheroidal halo hosts the ponderous—and still mysterious—dark matter that outweighs everything else. Another dark mystery lurks deep in the heart of the Milky Way, where a supermassive black hole has produced bizarre phenomena seen at multiple wavelengths. Waller makes the case that our very existence is inextricably linked to the Galaxy that spawned us. Through this book, readers can become well-informed galactic "insiders"—ready to imagine humanity's next steps as fully engaged citizens of the Milky Way.

No modern astronomer made a more profound contribution to our understanding of the cosmos than did Edwin Hubble, who first conclusively demonstrated that the universe is expanding. Basing his theory on the observation of the change in distanct galaxies, called red shift, Hubble showed that this is a Doppler effect, or alteration in the wavelength of light, resulting from the rapid motion of celestial objects away from Earth. In 1935, Hubble described his principal observations and conclusions in the Silliman lectures at Yale University. These lectures were published the following year as "The Realm of the Nebulae," which quickly became a classic work.

A thought provoking study of the powerful impact of images in guiding astronomers' understanding of galaxies through time.

This fully revised and updated text is a comprehensive introduction to astronomical objects and phenomena. By applying some basic physical principles to a variety of situations, students will learn how to relate everyday physics to the astronomical world. Starting with the simplest objects, the text contains explanations of how and why astronomical phenomena occur, and how astronomers collect and interpret information about stars, galaxies and the solar system. The text looks at the properties of stars, star formation and evolution; neutron stars and black holes; the nature of galaxies; and the structure of the universe. It examines the past, present and future states of the universe; and final chapters use the concepts that have been developed to study the solar system, its formation; the possibility of finding other planetary systems; and the search for extraterrestrial life. This comprehensive text contains useful equations, chapter summaries, worked examples and end-of-chapter problem sets.