The 2007 ESO Instrument Calibration workshop brought together more than 120 participants with the objective to a) foster the sharing of information, experience and techniques between observers, instrument developers and instrument operation teams, b) review the actual precision and limitations of the applied instrument calibration plans, and c) collect the current and future requirements by the ESO users. These present proceedings include the majority of the workshop’s contributions and document the status quo of instrument calibration at ESO in large detail. Topics covered are: Optical Spectro-Imagers, Optical Multi-Object Spectrographs, NIR and MIR Spectro-Imagers, High-Resolution Spectrographs, Integral Field Spectrographs, Adaptive Optics Instruments, Polarimetric Instruments, Wide Field Imagers, Interferometric Instruments as well as other crucial aspects such as data flow, quality control, data reduction software and atmospheric effects. It was stated in the workshop that “calibration is a life-long learning process”'. In this sense, this book will be a reference point for all future efforts to improve instrument calibration procedures in astronomy.

The Workshop “Science with the VLT in the ELT Era” held in Garching from 8th to 12th October 2007 was organised by ESO, with support from its Scienti c and Technical Committee, to provide a forum for the astronomical community to debate the long term future of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and its interferometric mode (VLTI). In particular it was considered useful for future planning to evaluate how its science use may evolve over the next decade due to competition and/or synergy with new facilities such as ALMA, JWST and, hopefully, at least one next generation 30–40 m extremely large telescope whose acronym appears in the title to symbolise this wider context. These discussions were also held in the fresh light of the Science Vision recently developed within ASTRONET as the rst step towards a 20 year plan for implementing astronomical facilities—the rst such attempt within Europe. Speci c ideas and proposals for new, second generation VLT/I instruments were also solicited following a tradition set by several earlier Workshops held since the start of the VLT development. The programme consisted of invited talks and reviews and contributed talks and posters. Almost all those given are included here although, unfortunately not the several lively but constructive discussion sessions.

The Symposium on Frequency Standards and Metrology is an event held approximately every seven years, and is regarded as the premier conference in the field of advanced clocks and oscillators together with their applications in science and metrology. This series began with the first meeting at Universiteacute; Laval, Quebec Canada in 1971, and the last one was held in 2001 at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. The 7th Symposium on Frequency Standards and Metrology is scheduled for October 5ndash;11, 2008 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California, USA. The Symposium is intended as a forum for bringing together international scientists and technologists engaged in the development of precise frequency standards and clocks, the study of their underlying physics, and their applications in metrology and tests of fundamental laws. The symposium has been traditionally held in a venue that promotes exchange of information on emerging ideas and latest achievements in the field, with a single-session approach which includes oral presentations by invitation, poster session(s) and keynote talks from internationally-recognized speakers. The program also includes social and other events aimed at promoting the exchange of technical and scientific information.

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

A practical guide for engineers and students that covers a wide range of optical design and optical metrology topics Optical Engineering Science offers a comprehensive and authoritative review of the science of optical engineering. The book bridges the gap between the basic theoretical principles of classical optics and the practical application of optics in the commercial world. Written by a noted expert in the field, the book examines a range of practical topics that are related to optical design, optical metrology and manufacturing. The book fills a void in the literature by coving all three topics in a single volume. Optical engineering science is at the foundation of the design of commercial optical systems, such as mobile phone cameras and digital cameras as well as highly sophisticated instruments for commercial and research applications. It spans the design, manufacture and testing of space or aerospace instrumentation to the optical sensor technology for environmental monitoring. Optics engineering science has a wide variety of applications, both commercial and research. This important book: Offers a comprehensive review of the topic of optical engineering Covers topics such as optical fibers, waveguides, aspheric surfaces, Zernike polynomials, polarisation, birefringence and more Targets engineering professionals and students Filled with illustrative examples and mathematical equations Written for professional practitioners, optical engineers, optical designers, optical systems engineers and students, Optical Engineering Science offers an authoritative guide that covers the broad range of optical design and optical metrology topics and their applications.

Solar physics in India has a tradition that can be traced to the setting up of the Kodaikanal Observatory in 1899 when the Madras Observatory was relocated to a high altitude site with a view to initiate observations of the sun. This conference on Magnetic Coupling between the Interior and the Atmosphere of the Sun during 2–5 December 2008 was planned to coincide with centenary of the Evershed effect discovery at Kodaikanal in 1909. The aim of this meeting was to bring to a critical focus a comprehensive - derstanding of the important issues pertaining to solar magnetism with particular emphasis on the various MHD processes that operate in the solar atmosphere. The current status of magnetic eld measurements and their implications in the light of recenttheoriesandnumericalmodelingthataddressthe fundamentalscalesandp- cessesinthehighlymagnetizedturbulentplasmawerereviewedduringthismeeting. The meeting was timely for the following reasons: Space observations such as from SOHO and TRACE have provided a wealth of multiwavelength observations onprocessesoccurringinregionsofthe atmosphereextendingfromthe photosphere up to the outer corona. With the launch of Hinode and STEREO in 2006 and of SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) shortly, this conference provided a platform for in-depth discussions on new results from various space missions as well as a comparison with ground-based observing facilities such as the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope. Using sophisticated image processing techniques, such telescopes r- tinelygenerateobservationswitharesolutionbetterthan0. 1arcsec,therebyyielding more informative diagnostics for instance of the microstructure of ux tubes.