It has been well known since the IRAS mission that dust emission represents a significant fraction of the energy output from PNe (Zhang & Kwok 1991). Although the dust component in PNe was long thought to be due to the remnants of the envelopes of AGB stars (Kwok 1982), we now know that dust in PNe has a much richer chemical composition. In addition to amorphous silicates and SiC features commonly seen in AGB stars, PNe have been found to have strong aromatic infrared features (Russell et al. 1977), crystalline silicate features (Waters et al. 1997), and an unidentified emission feature at 30 μm (Forrest et al. 1981). In this paper, we show the ISO spectra of a number of PNe illustrating the diverse dust chemistry in PNe.

We review the history of the IAU Radial Velocity Standard Stars and give a status report on recent efforts at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics to establish an absolute velocity zero point for these stars and to improve their usefulness for intercomparing the results from different instruments and observatories.

The evolutionary history of the Magellanic Clouds has been very different from that of the Galaxy. As a result we presently observe major differences between both the stellar content and the cluster populations in the Galaxy and the Clouds.

Carbon monoxide and ammonia have been detected in the spectrum of G1 229B at abundances that differ substantially from those obtained from chemical equilibrium. Vertical mixing in the atmosphere is a mechanism that can drive slowly reacting species out of chemical equilibrium. We explore the effects of vertical mixing as a function of mixing efficiency and effective temperature on the chemical abundances in the atmospheres of brown dwarfs and on their spectra. The models compare favorably with the observational evidence and indicate that vertical mixing plays an important role in brown dwarf atmospheres.

I give a personal summary of IAU-Symposium 221 “Star Formation at High Angular Resolution”, including general impressions and scientific highlights (both observations and theory). Some future directions, like infrared interferometry and advanced SPH numerical simulations, are described. In passing, I also make some critical comments about information overload and the dangers of decreasing information transfer efficiency in the age of power-point.

I should explain at once that I very much regret that it is the Chairman of the Scientific Organising Committee who has been press-ganged by his Committee into giving the concluding remarks at this symposium. I obviously cannot take an unbiassed view of the proceedings. I have therefore refrained from calling this a “survey” or “concluding remarks” - it is a personal view of those aspects of this symposium which have struck me as particularly interesting - I will make no attempt to provide a complete survey of the last five days.

We present here several gravity tests made with the latest INPOP08 planetary ephemerides. We first propose two methods to estimate the PPN parameter β and its correlated value, the Sun J2, and we discuss the correlation between the Sun J2 and the mass of the asteroid ring. We estimate a possible advance in the planet perihelia. We also show that no constant acceleration larger than 1/4 of the Pioneer anomaly is compatible with the observed motion of the planets in our Solar System.

White dwarfs rotate. The angular momentum in single white dwarfs must originate early in the life of the star, but also must be modified (and perhaps severely modified) during the many stages of evolution between birth as a main–sequence star and final appearance as a white dwarf. Observational constraints on the rotation of single white dwarf stars come from traditional spectroscopy and from asteroseismology, with the latter providing hints of angular velocity with depth. Results of these observational determinations, that white dwarfs rotate with periods ranging from hours to days (or longer), tells us that the processes by which angular momentum is deposited and/or drained from the cores of AGB stars are complex. Still, one can place strong limits on these processes by considering relatively simple limiting cases for angular momentum evolution in prior stages, and on subsequent angular momentum evolution in the white dwarfs. These limiting-case constraints will be reviewed in the context of the available observations.

Although a direct link between the HED meteorites and the asteroid 4 Vesta is generally acknowledged, several issues continue to be actively examined that tie Vesta to early processes in the solar system. Vesta is no longer the only basaltic asteroid in the Main belt. In addition to the Vestoids of the Vesta family, the small asteroid Magnya is basaltic but appears to be unrelated to Vesta. Similarly, diversity now identified in the collection of basaltic meteorites requires more than one basaltic parent body, consistent with the abundance of differentiated parent bodies implied by iron meteorites. The timing of the formation of the Vestoids (and presumably the large crater at the south pole of Vesta) is unresolved. Peaks in Ar-Ar dates of eucrites suggest this impact event could be related to a possible late heavy bombardment at least 3.5 Gyr ago. On the other hand, the optically fresh appearance of both Vesta and the Vestoids requires either a relatively recent resurfacing event or that their surfaces do not weather in the same manner thought to occur on other asteroids such as the ordinary chondrite parent body. Diversity across the surface of Vesta has been observed with HST and there are hints of compositional variations (possibly involving minor olivine) in near-infrared spectra.

New circular spectropolarimetric observations of the B1 IIIe star β Cep (υsini = 25 km s−1) show a sinusoidally varying weak longitudinal magnetic field (~ 200 G peak-to-peak). The period corresponds to the 12 day period in the stellar wind variations observed in ultraviolet spectral lines. Maximum field occurs at maximum emission in the UV wind lines. This gives compelling evidence for a magnetic-rotator model for this star, with an unambiguous rotation period of 12 days.

The similarity between the Hα emission phases in β Cep and in Be stars suggests that the origin of the Be phenomenon does not have to be rapid rotation: we propose that in β Cep the velocity to bring material in (Keplerian) orbit is provided by the high corotation velocity at the Alfvén radius (~10 R*), whereas in Be stars this is done by the rapid rotation of the surface. In both cases the cause of the emission phases has still to be found. Weak temporary magnetic fields remain the strongest candidate.

A full paper, with results including additional measurements in June and July 1999, will appear in A & A.

We present lithium abundances for ∼50 late-type members of the ∼30 — 50 Myr old open clusters IC 2602 and IC 2391 derived from high-resolution spectra obtained at ESO and CTIO. These data enlarge and extend to cooler temperatures previous Li surveys of these clusters by Stauffer et al. (1989) and Randich et al. (1997). We discuss the lithium vs. temperature distribution in the two clusters and we compare our results with those obtained for the Pleiades (∼120 Myr). The results are discussed in the general framework of lithium depletion in young clusters, from the pre-main sequence to the age of the Pleiades.

Integrated broad-band colors and metallic lines cannot discriminate clearly between the effects of age and Z in old stellar populations. Such data are more sensitive to Z than to age. The Hβ feature provides a way to break this degeneracy. New measurements indicate that the mean stellar ages of typical E galaxy nuclei are fairly young, ranging from 2 to ~12 Gyr. The outer parts of E galaxies are both older and more metal-poor than nuclei, consistent with the formation of E galaxies via mergers and starbursts. Age effects contribute strongly to the classic color-line strength sequence of E galaxies.

One-dimensional hydrostatic-equilibrium models are shown here for faint, average, and bright components of the quiet Sun, and for a plage region, describing in each case how the atmosphere is stratified through the photosphere, chromosphere, and transition region up to a temperature of 105 K. The observed coronal line radiation is assumed to be the inward incident radiation at the 105 K boundary. This coronal radiation penetrates into the upper chromosphere causing sufficient helium ionization to populate the lower level of the He I 10830 Å line, producing optically-thin absorption of the photospheric continuum at 10830 Å. The amount of absorption, which is proportional to the optical thickness of the upper chromosphere in the 10830 line, depends on 1) the strength of the coronal lines at wavelengths in the He I 504 Å ionizing continuum, and 2) the density and geometrical thickness of the upper chromosphere. The computed 10830 Å line is shown for the four atmospheric models and for three values of the coronal illumination. The calculated off-limb 10830 intensity distribution shows a minimum in the low chromosphere and a maximum at roughly 2000 km above the photosphere, in general agreement with observations, indicating that this is the predominant height of the transition region over most of the solar surface.

In the last several years the manually operated fish-eye cameras in the Czech part of the European fireball Network (EN) have been gradually replaced with new generation cameras, the modern and sophisticated completely autonomous fireball observatories (AFO), which were recently developed in the Czech Republic. The main motivation for construction of this new observing system was to continue in regular fireball observations and to make these observations more complex and efficient. In this paper we briefly describe basic design and work of this new instrument and its deployment at the Czech stations of the EN. The current dislocation of the individual stations and their equipment is also discussed. Along with this new modern instrument we developed also new software for measurement of photographic negatives which makes this time consuming work more efficient and easier. The AFOs provide us with data on fireballs far richer and more interesting than those we were able to get in the past. This is illustrated by the cases of two recently observed fireballs which were recorded by the AFOs. We describe the high precision of all the measureded values as well as the very detailed information about light curves in both cases.

The constitution of stationary single sunspots of circular shape is considered. Account is taken of the mechanical effects of the magnetic field, including those which arise from the curvature of the lines of force. To make the system of magneto-hydrostatic equations manageable, it is assumed that the relative distribution of the vertical component of the magnetic field is the same across the flux-tube of the spot in all depths. Preliminary results indicate that suppression of convective energy transport by the magnetic field in those depths in which ionization of hydrogen takes place, will give the essential observable properties of sunspots, relatively independent on the asumptions about the physical processes in greater depths. There the physical properties of matter can deviate but very little from those of the indisturbed hydrogen convection zone.

We summarize the properties of Infrared Dark Clouds, massive, dense, and cool aggregations of interstellar gas and dust that are found throughout the Galaxy in projection against the strong mid-infrared background. We describe their distribution and give an overview of their physical properties and chemistry. These objects appear to be the progenitors of high-mass stars and star clusters, but seem to be largely devoid of star formation, which however is taking place in localized spots.

Observations prompted by Sheeley's discovery of outflowing CN bright points from sunspots have established that there occur small moving magnetic features (MMF's) near sunspots. These MMF's exhibit a highly ordered pattern of movement directly related to the associated sunspot. The observations are consistent with the concept of magnetic flux outflow (MFO), a process whereby net magnetic flux of the same polarity as the sunspot is transferred from a decaying sunspot to the surrounding magnetic network. Small magnetic flux concentrations are apparently convected outward by a velocity cell centered on the sunspot. Doppler spectroheliograms have provided evidence for such systematic outward velocities extending as far as 10000 to 20000 km beyond the outer edge of the penumbra of some sunspots, which is comparable to the extent of MFO. While MFO is best observed by means of time-lapse movies of the magnetic fields, it is also manifested morphologically on individual magnetograms by features that resemble moats (or bays) and wreaths around only those sunspots where MFO is present. Two examples of magnetic features streaming toward and into rapidly forming sunspots are described, providing evidence for the occurrence of magnetic flux inflow (MFI) associated with the growth phase of sunspot development. It is, therefore, likely that MFI and MFO are basic aspects of the evolutionary development of sunspots. Observational and instrumental aspects relevant to the investigation of MMF's are described in the Appendix.

The infrared spectra of many galactic and extragalactic objects are dominated by emission features at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6 and 11.2 μm. The carriers of these features remained a mystery for almost a decade, hence the bands were dubbed the unidentified infrared (UIR) bands. Since the mid-80's, the UIR bands are generally attributed to the IR fluorescence of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon molecules (PAHs) upon absorption of UV photons – the PAH hypothesis. Here we review the progress made over the past 25 years in understanding the UIR bands and their carriers.

This paper provides a brief overview of the journey of molecules through the Cosmos, from local diffuse interstellar clouds and PDRs to distant galaxies, and from cold dark clouds to hot star-forming cores, protoplanetary disks, planetesimals and exoplanets. Recent developments in each area are sketched and the importance of connecting astronomy with chemistry and other disciplines is emphasized. Fourteen challenges for the field of Astrochemistry in the coming decades are formulated.