The launch in October 1990 of the joint ESA-NASA Ulysses mission marked the start of a new era in the study of the heliosphere. For the fIrst time, in-situ observations are being made covering the full range of heliographic latitudes. Following the successful gravity-assist manoeuvre at Jupiter in February 1992, Ulysses left the ecliptic plane in a southerly direction and headed back toward the Sun, passing over the southern solar pole in mid-1994. To mark these unique events, the 28th ESLAB Symposium, held in Friedrichs hafen, Germany, on 19-21 April 1994, was devoted to "The High Latitude Helio sphere". Following on from the highly successful 19th ESLAB Symposium "The Sun and the Heliosphere in Three Dimensions" (Les Diablerets, 1985), the purpose of the meeting was to review out-of-ecliptic results from the Ulysses mission obtained to date, and to provide a focus for the fIrst polar pass. Relevant results from other space missions, as well as ground-based and theoretical studies, were also included. Attended by 130 scientists, the main themes of the Symposium were The Sun and Corona, Large-Scale Heliospheric Structure, Energetic Particles in the Heliosphere, Cosmic Rays in the Heliosphere, and Interstellar Gas and Cosmic Dust. The scientifIc programme consisted of a number of Topical Review papers introducing various as pects of these themes, supplemented by a large number of contributed papers (72 in to tal) presented either orally or as posters. Undoubtedly, the excellent poster sessions formed one of the highlights of the meeting.

Lists citations with abstracts for aerospace related reports obtained from world wide sources and announces documents that have recently been entered into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Database.

Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts, which has appeared in semi-annual volumes since 1969, is devoted to the recording, summarizing and indexing of astronomical publications throughout the world. It is prepared under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (according to a resolution adopted at the 14th General Assembly in 1970). Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstracts aims to present a comprehensive documenta tion of literature in all fields of astronomy and astrophysics. Every effort will be made to ensure that the average time interval between the date of receipt of the original literature and publication of the abstracts will not exceed eight months. This time interval is near to that achieved by monthly abstracting journals, compared to which our system of accumu lating abstracts for about six months offers the advantage of greater convenience for the user. Volume 31 contains literature published in 1982 and received before July 15, 1982; some older literature which was received late and which is not recorded in earlier volumes is also included. We acknowledge with thanks contributions to this volume by Dr. J. Bouska, Prague, who surveyed journals and publications in Czech and supplied us with abstracts in English .

In a unique collaboration, Nature Publishing Group and Institute of Physics Publishing have published the most extensive and comprehensive reference work in astronomy and astrophysics. This unique resource covers the entire field of astronomy and astrophysics and this online version includes the full text of over 2,750 articles, plus sophisticated search and retrieval functionality and links to the primary literature. The Encyclopaedia's authority is assured by editorial and advisory boards drawn from the world's foremost astronomers and astrophysicists. This first class resource is an essential source of information for undergraduates, graduate students, researchers and seasoned professionals, as well as for committed amateurs, librarians and lay people wishing to consult the definitive astronomy and astrophysics reference work.

The Encyclopedia of the Solar System provides a series of comprehensive and authoritative articles written by more than 50 eminent planetary and space scientists. Each chapter is self-contained yet linked by cross-references to other related chapters. This beautifully designed book is a must for the library of professional astronomers and amateur star-gazers alike, in fact for anyone who wishes to understand the nature of our solar system. Key Features* Cross-referenced throughout for easy comprehension* Superbly illustrated with over 700 photos, drawings, and diagrams, including 36 color plates* Provides 40 thematically organized chapters by more than 50 eminent contributors* Convenient glossaries of technical terms introduce each chapter* Academic Press maintains a web site for the Encyclopedia at www.academicpress.com/solar; Author-recommended web resources for additional information, images, and research developments related to each chapter of this volume, are available here

Fast particles of natural or1g1n (cosmic rays) have been used for a long time as an important source of astrophysical and geophysical information. A study of cosmic ray spectra, time variations, abundances, gradients, and anisotropy provides a wealth of data on physical conditions in the regions of cosmic ray generation as well as in the media through which cosmic rays propagate. Astrophysical aspects of cosmic ray physics have been considered in a number of monograpqs. The most detailed seems to be "The Origin of Cosmic Rays" by V. L. Ginzburg and S. 1. Syrovatskij (1964) which is, however, concerned mainly with galactic cosmic rays. The physics of the circumsolar space is discussed in this book only rather briefly. Several other monographs have been devoted mostly to the physics of the interplanetary medium and cosmic rays in interplanetary space. These include the books by Dorman (1963, 1975a, b), Parker (1963), Dorman and Miroshnichenko (1968). The present monograph differs from the above mentioned books in two main aspects: (i) It presents a unified theoretical approach to analys{ng the properties of fast particles in interplanetary space, based upon consideration of cosmic rays as a highly energetic component of the interplane~ary plasma, which makes use of the plasma physics methods to describe the behaviour of cosmic rays.