The Universe at Large : Key Issues in Astronomy and Cosmology

In this timely volume, eleven of the world's greatest living astronomers and cosmologists present their personal views of what problems must be addressed by future research in astronomy and cosmology. It provides an invaluable review of our current understanding, and a host of ideas for profitable future research for graduate students and researchers.

The Universe at Large presents a unique survey of key questions outstanding in contemporary astronomy and cosmology. In this timely volume, eleven of the world's greatest living astronomers and cosmologists present their personal views of what problems must be addressed by future research. Allan Sandage presents a 23-point plan to reach a full understanding of the largescale structure in the Universe; Geoffrey Burbidge looks at the future of the Quasi Steady State alternative to the Big Bang; active galactic nuclei (AGN) are discussed by E. Margaret Burbidge, Donald Osterbrock and Malcolm Longair; Igor Novikov, Donald Lynden-Bell, Martin Rees and Rashid Sunyaev look at the physics of black holes; and Bernard Pagel and Hubert Reeves concentrate on what we don't yet understand about elements in the cosmos. This book provides a unique review of our current understanding in astronomy and cosmology, and a host of ideas for profitable future research - for graduate students and researchers.