A complete record of the formal organisational and administrative proceedings of the XXVII General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.

When Sultan bin Salman left Earth on the shuttle Discovery in 1985, he became the first Arab, first Muslim and first member of a royal family in space. Twenty-five years later, the discovery of a planet 500 light years away by the Qatar Exoplanet Survey - subsequently named `Qatar-1b' - was evidence of the cutting-edge space science projects taking place across the Middle East. This book identifies the individuals, institutions and national ideologies that enabled Arab astronomers and researchers to gain support for space exploration when Middle East governments lacked interest. Jorg Matthias Determann shows that the conquest of space became associated with national prestige, security, economic growth and the idea of an `Arab renaissance' more generally. Equally important to this success were international collaborations: to benefit from American and Soviet expertise and technology, Arab scientists and officials had to commit to global governance of space and the common interests of humanity. Challenging the view that the golden age of Arabic science and cosmopolitanism was situated in the medieval period, Determann tells the story of the new discoveries and scientific collaborations taking place from the 19th century to the present day. An innovative contribution to Middle East studies and history of science, the book also appeals to increased business, media and political interest in the Arab space industry.

IAU Transactions XXVIB contains the Proceedings of the IAU XXVII General Assembly held in Prague, 14-25 August 2006, hosting a total of 2412 participants from 73 countries. The Assembly featured a rich scientific program, comprising 6 Symposia, 17 Joint Discussions and 7 Special Sessions. During the program about 650 papers were presented and more than 1550 posters displayed. The Proceedings of the 6 Symposia have been published in the Proceedings of the IAU Symposia Series, and the proceedings of the Joint Discussions and Special Sessions feature in IAU Highlights of Astronomy, 14. Together with those 7 volumes, these Transactions cover the entire General Assembly. In addition to the scientific program, the XXVI General Assembly hosted the regular Business Meetings of the EC, the 12 Divisions, 40 Commissions and 75 Working Groups. This volume records the organizational and administrative business of the XXVI General Assembly and the status of the IAU membership.

The uses of time in astronomy - from pointing telescopes, coordinating and processing observations, predicting ephemerides, cultures, religious practices, history, businesses, determining Earth orientation, analyzing time-series data and in many other ways - represent a broad sample of how time is used throughout human society and in space. Time and its reciprocal, frequency, is the most accurately measurable quantity and often an important path to the frontiers of science. But the future of timekeeping is changing with the development of optical frequency standards and the resulting challenges of distributing time at ever higher precision, with the possibility of timescales based on pulsars, and with the inclusion of higher-order relativistic effects. The definition of the second will likely be changed before the end of this decade, and its realization will increase in accuracy; the definition of the day is no longer obvious. The variability of the Earth's rotation presents challenges of understanding and prediction. In this symposium speakers took a closer look at time in astronomy, other sciences, cultures, and business as a defining element of modern civilization. The symposium aimed to set the stage for future timekeeping standards, infrastructure, and engineering best practices for astronomers and the broader society. At the same time the program was cognizant of the rich history from Harrison's chronometer to today's atomic clocks and pulsar observations. The theoreticians and engineers of time were brought together with the educators and historians of science, enriching the understanding of time among both experts and the public.

This collection of essays on cultural astronomy celebrates the life and work of Clive Ruggles, Emeritus Professor of Archaeoastronomy at Leicester University. Taking their lead from Ruggles’ work, the papers present new research focused on three core themes in cultural astronomy: methodology, case studies, and heritage. Through this framework, they show how the study of cultural astronomy has evolved over time and share new ideas to continue advancing the field. Ruggles’ work in these areas has had a profound impact on the way that scholars approach evidence of the role of sky in both ancient and modern cultures. While the papers span many time periods and regions, they are closely connected by these three major themes, presenting methodological investigations of how we can approach archaeological, textual, and ethnographic evidence; describing detailed archaeoastronomical case studies; or stressing the importance of global heritage management. This work will appeal to researchers and scholars interested in the history and development of cultural astronomy.

The Transactions XXVIIA Reports on Astronomy 2006-2009 provides a comprehensive and authoritative review of what has been achieved in astronomy during the years 2006 to 2009. These insightful and up-to-date reviews have been written by the presidents and chairpersons of the IAU scientific bodies: the Divisions, the Commissions, and the Working Groups. Topics covered in this wide-ranging volume include: fundamental astronomy; the Sun and heliosphere; planetary sciences; stars; variable stars; interstellar matter; the Galactic system; galaxies and the Universe; optical and infrared techniques; radio astronomy; space and high-energy astrophysics; and other IAU activities. The reviews have been written at a level suitable for colleagues in the same fields, but will also be useful for students and researchers wishing to gain an overview of astronomical fields beyond their own research area.

This authoritative book presents the theoretical development of gravitational physics as it applies to the dynamics of celestial bodies and the analysis of precise astronomical observations. In so doing, it fills the need for a textbook that teaches modern dynamical astronomy with a strong emphasis on the relativistic aspects of the subject produced by the curved geometry of four-dimensional spacetime. The first three chapters review the fundamental principles of celestial mechanics and of special and general relativity. This background material forms the basis for understanding relativistic reference frames, the celestial mechanics of N-body systems, and high-precision astrometry, navigation, and geodesy, which are then treated in the following five chapters. The final chapter provides an overview of the new field of applied relativity, based on recent recommendations from the International Astronomical Union. The book is suitable for teaching advanced undergraduate honors programs and graduate courses, while equally serving as a reference for professional research scientists working in relativity and dynamical astronomy. The authors bring their extensive theoretical and practical experience to the subject. Sergei Kopeikin is a professor at the University of Missouri, while Michael Efroimsky and George Kaplan work at the United States Naval Observatory, one of the world?s premier institutions for expertise in astrometry, celestial mechanics, and timekeeping.

The concept of a socially constructed space of human activity in areas of everyday actions, as initially proposed in the field of anthropology by Tim Ingold, has actually been much more applied in archaeology. In this wide-ranging collection of 13 papers, including a re-assessment by Ingold himself, contributors show why it has been so influential, with papers ranging from the study of Mesolithic to historic and contemporary archaeology, revisiting different research themes, such as Ingold’s own Lapland study, and the development of landscape archaeology. A series of case studies demonstrates the value and strength of the taskscape concept applied to a variety of contexts and scales across wide geographical and temporal situations. While exploring new frontiers, the papers contrast British, Nordic and Mediterranean archaeologies to showcase the study of material culture and landscape and conclude with an assessment of the concept of taskcape and its further developments.

Wave energy has a higher potential than most of the available ocean energy resources; however, it fluctuates dramatically depending on geographical and temporal baselines. The complexity of wave energy is only exacerbated by that fact that the cycle of creation, transport, and disappearance of wave energy is influenced by a wide variety of factors. This Special Issue of Energies explores the latest developments in wave energy potential, behavior, and extraction. This Special Issue introduces 1) thorough reviews on the status of wave energy development, 2) novel technologies to extract wave energy including wave energy converter design, and 3) latest methodologies applied in analyzing wave energy potentials.