The Magellanic System (IAU S256)
Stars, Gas, and Galaxies

Provides the most complete and up-to-date account of our understanding of the Magellanic Clouds and the astrophysical processes within them.

Jacco Th. van Loon (Edited by), Joana M. Oliveira (Author)

9780521889872, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 April 2009

540 pages, 90 b/w illus. 30 tables
25.3 x 18.2 x 2.7 cm, 1.1 kg

This volume presents the most complete and up-to-date accounts of our understanding of the Magellanic Clouds and the astrophysical processes within them. Observations of these nearby dwarf galaxies continue to advance, calibrate and challenge our knowledge of the cosmos. They are rich in gas, they have been actively forming stars throughout their history, and they display a wealth of dynamical features. Poor in metals, they serve as a stepping stone towards understanding the high-redshift Universe. In IAU Symposium 256, scientists from vastly different fields of research discuss galactic dynamics, the physics of the interstellar medium and star formation, and the fundamental properties and evolution of stars. New insight was gained by crossing the traditional boundaries of these fields, placing the findings in the context of the structure and evolution of this interacting pair of galaxies uniquely available to our ever more powerful telescopes and computational machinery.

List of posters
Preface
The organizing committee
Conference photograph
Participants
Dedication
Part I. Surveys of the Magellanic Clouds
Part II. The Structure and Dynamics of the Magellanic System
Part III. The Properties of the Interstellar Medium
Part IV. The Star Formation Process
Part V. The Star Formation History and Chemical Evolution
Part VI. The Magellanic Clouds as Laboratories of Stellar Astrophysics
Part VII. The Final Stages of Stellar Evolution and Feedback
Part VIII. Magellanic Type Systems as a Class
Summary
Author index
Object index
Subject index.

Subject Areas: Astrophysics [PHVB]