Highlights of Astronomy: As Presented at the XVth General Assembly and the Extra Ordinary General Assembly of the I.A.U. 1973

Front Matter....Pages I-IX
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
A New Look at the Sun....Pages 3-19
Early Stages of the Universe....Pages 21-35
The Physics of the Interstellar Matter....Pages 37-49
Galaxies and Their Nuclei....Pages 51-66
The Astronomy and Cosmology of Copernicus....Pages 67-85
Front Matter....Pages 87-87
X-Ray Sources in Close Binary Systems....Pages 89-107
The Next Decade in Stellar Atmospheres Theory....Pages 109-120
The Future of Observational Stellar Atmospheres....Pages 121-132
The Next Decade of Theoretical Solar Physics....Pages 133-148
The Next Decade in Observational Solar Research....Pages 149-169
Asymmetry in Solar Spectral Lines....Pages 171-203
Front Matter....Pages 205-205
Introductory Remarks....Pages 209-210
Pro and Contra Changes in the Conventional Values of Precession....Pages 211-219
The Calculation of the Nutations....Pages 221-222
Planetary Ephemerides....Pages 223-227
Astronomical Units, Constants and Time-Scales....Pages 229-232
Introduction....Pages 235-235
High Resolution Interferometry of Cool Stars....Pages 237-254
Presentation and Interpretation of High Resolution Infrared Spectra of Late-Type Stars....Pages 255-268
High Resolution Spectra of M and C Stars by Fourier Transform Spectroscopy....Pages 269-284
Front Matter....Pages 205-205
Scans and Narrow-Band Photometry of Late-Type Stars in the One-Micron Region....Pages 285-306
Medium Resolution Stellar Spectra in the Two-Micron Region....Pages 307-326
Fourier Transform Spectrophotometry and Its Application to the Study of K-Giants....Pages 327-339
Interpretation of Carbon Stars Spectra from Model Atmospheres Computations....Pages 341-356
Stellar Spectroscopy at 1.1μ....Pages 357-359
Open Discussion....Pages 361-363
Preface....Pages 367-367
The Ages of Stars in the Neighbourhood of the Sun....Pages 369-379
Gould’s Belt....Pages 381-385
Red Variables and Their Main Sequence Progenitors....Pages 387-387
Low Luminosity Stars and White Dwarfs....Pages 389-393
The Kinematics and Ages of Stars in Gliese’s Catalogue....Pages 395-407
The Third and Fourth Moments of the Local Stellar Velocity Distribution....Pages 409-413
The Abundance and Age Distribution of 500 F Stars in the Solar Neighbourhood....Pages 415-415
The Space Density of Faint M-Dwarfs....Pages 417-418
The Correlation Between Kinematical Properties and Ages of Stellar Populations....Pages 419-421
Space Distribution and Motion of the Local H i Gas....Pages 423-440
Influence of a Spiral Gravitational Field on the Observational Determination of Galactic Structure....Pages 441-450
Solar Neighbourhood as the Local Macroscopic Volume Element Within the Galaxy....Pages 451-456
How Can it All be Stable?....Pages 457-464
Front Matter....Pages 205-205
Closing Remarks....Pages 465-465
On the Growth of the Earth-Moon System....Pages 469-473
Evidence for Lunar-Type Objects in the Early Solar System....Pages 475-481
The Movement of Small Particulate Matter in the Early Solar System and the Formation of Satellites....Pages 483-485
Gravitational Collapse and the Formation of the Solar Nebula....Pages 487-487
The Principle of Least Interaction Action....Pages 489-489
Summary....Pages 493-498
The Chemical Composition of the Envelopes of Novae....Pages 501-508
The Shell of V603 Aql and the Early Stages of the Nova Event....Pages 509-532
Spectrophotometry of Supernovae....Pages 533-544
On the Physical Model of Supernovae Close to Light Maximum....Pages 545-557
Supernova Remnants....Pages 559-563
Soft X-Ray Observations of Supernova Remnants....Pages 565-572
Report on the Lecce Conference on Supernovae....Pages 573-574