Edith Alicia Müller (1918-1995) was the IAU General Secretary from 1976 to 1979, the first woman to have this responsibility. Many friends, students and colleagues, and others who have met Edith at different occasions, give in this book their memories of her. Her fundamental work in solar physics concerned the chemical composition of the Sun, the time variation of its infra-red spectrum, and its thermal structure. Her interests were, however, far broader than that. She was heavily involved in international work for the teaching of astronomy and for the exchange program of young astronomers.

An inspiring anthology of writings by trailblazing women astronomers from around the globe The Sky Is for Everyone is an internationally diverse collection of autobiographical essays by women who broke down barriers and changed the face of modern astronomy. Virginia Trimble and David Weintraub vividly describe how, before 1900, a woman who wanted to study the stars had to have a father, brother, or husband to provide entry, and how the considerable intellectual skills of women astronomers were still not enough to enable them to pry open doors of opportunity for much of the twentieth century. After decades of difficult struggles, women are closer to equality in astronomy than ever before. Trimble and Weintraub bring together the stories of the tough and determined women who flung the doors wide open. Taking readers from 1960 to today, this triumphant anthology serves as an inspiration to current and future generations of women scientists while giving voice to the history of a transformative era in astronomy. With contributions by Neta A. Bahcall, Beatriz Barbuy, Ann Merchant Boesgaard, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Catherine Cesarsky, Poonam Chandra, Xuefei Chen, Cathie Clarke, Judith Gamora Cohen, France Anne Córdova, Anne Pyne Cowley, Bożena Czerny, Wendy L. Freedman, Yilen Gómez Maqueo Chew, Gabriela González, Saeko S. Hayashi, Martha P. Haynes, Roberta M. Humphreys, Vicky Kalogera, Gillian Knapp, Shazrene S. Mohamed, Carole Mundell, Priyamvada Natarajan, Dara J. Norman, Hiranya Peiris, Judith Lynn Pipher, Dina Prialnik, Anneila I. Sargent, Sara Seager, Gražina Tautvaišienė, Silvia Torres-Peimbert, Virginia Trimble, Meg Urry, Ewine F. van Dishoeck, Patricia Ann Whitelock, Sidney Wolff, and Rosemary F. G. Wyse.

These peer-reviewed NIC XV conference proceedings present the latest major advances in nuclear physics, astrophysics, astronomy, cosmochemistry and neutrino physics, which provide the necessary framework for a microscopic understanding of astrophysical processes. The book also discusses future directions and perspectives in the various fields of nuclear astrophysics research. In addition, it also includes a limited number of section of more general interest on double beta decay and dark matter.