Foreword

Summary

For a decade now, the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canrias (IAC) has hosted the Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics in which young astrophysicists from all over the world have the opportunity of meeting accredited specialists to study the topics of most active concern in present-day astronomy. During these ten years 80 lecturers and more than 600 students have attended the Winter School, an even higher number not being able to come due to the limited number of places available.

The X Canary Islands Winter School on Astrophysics was dedicated to Globular Clusters, one of the basic sources of our knowledge concerning the lives of the stars and the physics of their evolution.

The School intended to portray a thorough review of research in this field, covering all the relevant disciplines with the aid of the best possible international team of specialists (Canada, Italy, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States), including the theoretical and observational aspects of stellar populations, stellar evolution and chemical abundances, dynamics, variable stars, X-ray sources and the globular clusters of other galaxies.

We take the opportunity to thank local Canarian authorities - Cabildo Insular de La Palma, and Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, as well as the Town Hall of La Laguna, for their continuous support during this and also previous editions of the School.

This tenth Winter School marks a milestone on a long but gratifying journey, in spite of occasional difficulties.