IAU Symposium 301 highlights the recent advances in the field of asteroseismology and was the twenty-first in a series of pulsation meetings started in Los Alamos in 1971 and held every two years. Topics discussed centred around seismic studies of all types of pulsating stars, which - in the era of space observations made by MOST, CoRoT and Kepler - use data of unprecedented precision. The Symposium was also the opportunity to honour Wojtek Dziembowski, one of the world's leaders in the study of solar and stellar pulsations. Highlights include contributions on observing from space and the ground, techniques of analysis and mode identification, astrophysical applications of pulsations, pulsation-convection interaction, mass loss, microphysics, pulsations in main-sequence stars, compact stars and supergiants, and solar-like oscillations. Containing many excellent reviews, this volume is an important reference source for researchers on solar and stellar pulsations.

Develops a fresh mathematical approach to coronal seismology, explaining oscillatory phenomena by drawing upon original research and complex modelling techniques.

I have felt the need for a book on the theory of solar magnetic fields for some time now. Most books about the Sun are written by observers or by theorists from other branches of solar physics, whereas those on magnetohydrodynamics do not deal extensively with solar applications. I had thought of waiting a few decades before attempting to put pen to paper, but one summer Josip Kleczek encouraged an im mediate start 'while your ideas are still fresh'. The book grew out of a postgraduate lecture course at St Andrews, and the resulting period of gestation or 'being with monograph' has lasted several years. The Sun is an amazing object, which has continued to reveal completely unexpected features when observed in greater detail or at new wavelengths. What riches would be in store for us if we could view other stars with as much precision! Stellar physics itself is benefiting greatly from solar discoveries, but, in tum, our understanding of many solar phenomena (such as sunspots, sunspot cycles, the corona and the solar wind) will undoubtedly increase in the future due to their observation under different conditions in other stars. In the 'old days' the solar atmosphere was regarded as a static, plane-parallel structure, heated by the dissipation of sound waves and with its upper layer expanding in a spherically symmetric manner as the solar wind. Outside of sunspots the magnetic field was thOUght to be unimportant with a weak uniform value of a few gauss.

These Proceedings present the most recent results from the highly successful international solar space missions (SOHO, CORONAS-F, TRACE, RHESSI, YOHKOH) and ground observatories around the Earth, reported at the IAU Symposium 223 held in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 14-19, 2004. These include discussions of the current theories of solar dynamics and activity, new constraints provided by the multi-wavelength observations of the Sun from the interior to the heliosphere, as well as discussions of future coordinated plans and efforts of multi-wavelength investigations of the Sun. The Proceedings contain the material of seven plenary sessions and three round-table discussions

The reconnection of magnetic fields is one of the most fascinating processes in plasma physics, responsible for phenomena such as solar flares and magnetospheric substorms. The concept of reconnection has developed through recent advances in exploring the magnetospheres of the Sun and Earth through theory, computer simulations and spacecraft observations. The great challenge in understanding it stems from balancing the large volumes of plasma and magnetic fields involved with the energy release with the physical mechanism which relies on the strongly localized behavior of charged particles. This book, edited by and with contributions from leading scientists in the field, provides a comprehensive overview of recent theoretical and observational findings concerning the physics of reconnection and the complex structures that may give rise to, or develop from, reconnection. It is intended for researchers and graduate students interested in the dynamics of plasmas.

Magnetic reconnection is at the core of many dynamic phenomena in the universe, such as solar flares, geomagnetic substorms and tokamak disruptions. Written by two world leaders on the subject, this volume provides a comprehensive overview of this fundamental process. Coverage gives both a pedagogical account of the basic theory and a wide-ranging review of the physical phenomena created by reconnection--from laboratory machines, the Earth's magnetosphere, and the Sun's atmosphere to flare stars and astrophysical accretion disks. It also includes a succinct account of particle acceleration by electric fields, stochastic fields and shock waves, and how reconnection can be important in these mechanisms. Clearly written and highly accessible, this volume serves as an essential introduction for graduate students in solar physics, astrophysics, plasma physics and space science. Researchers in these fields also will find Magnetic Reconnection an authoritative reference.

Global magnetic fields in planets, in the Sun and other stars, in spiral galaxies and galaxy clusters are believed to be generated and maintained by a hydromagnetic dynamo, a process that converts turbulent kinetic energy into magnetic energy. These dynamo processes operate on drastically different scales, but are associated with common physical mechanisms, involving a complex interaction of rotation, turbulence and instabilities. The goal of IAU Symposium 294 was to discuss the most important results of recent studies of the cosmic dynamo processes, from planets to stars, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. This volume covers advances in dynamo theories and numerical simulations, links between dynamos and turbulence, the origin of magnetic fields, and current and future observational projects. The proceedings of IAU S294 are an important asset for advanced students and researchers, as a summary of hot topics related to the solar and astrophysical dynamos and magnetic activity.

IAU S263 provides a state-of-the-art review of icy bodies in the Solar System, emphasizing their importance across many disciplines.

The borders between galaxies and the almost empty intergalactic medium are ill-defined regions where gas struggles to form stars. The proceedings of IAU Symposium 321 summarize our current understanding of the rarefied universe and prepare for the optimal exploitation of upcoming astronomical instruments. They discuss the most recent advances in the study of the stellar, dust and gas content of galaxy outskirts, going from resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way and in the Local Group to the study of high-redshift systems. Such a broad approach, both in terms of galaxy components and evolutionary epochs, is necessary to take full advantage of the recent discoveries made by facilities at all wavelengths, to deepen our knowledge of the assembly and evolution of these elusive regions and to establish their role within the evolution of galaxies as a whole and their interactions with the surrounding intergalactic medium.