Bücher der Reihe Geophysics and Astrophysics Monographs

Short History of Solar Radio Astronomy Since its birth in the forties of our century, solar radio astronomy has grown into an extensive scientific branch comprising a number of quite different topics covering technical sciences, astrophysics, plasma physics, solar-terrestrial physics, and other disciplines.

Double and multiple stars are the rule in the stellar population, and single stars the minority, as the abundance of binary systems in the space surrounding the sun shows beyond doubt.

Aims to be a balance between theory and applications, of analysis and synthesis, keeping the focus on the comprehension of the physics ruling our planetary system. This work is a textbook for students and a fundamental reference for researchers in the Solar System field.

The usual book on the theory of spectral line formation begins with an in-depth dis cussion of radiation transfer, including the elegant methods of obtaining analytical solutions for special cases, and of the physics of line broadening.

The aim of the present book will be to summarize the results of the space exploration of the Moon in the past fifteen years -culminating in the manned Apollo missions of 1969-1972 -on the background of our previous acquaintance with our satellite made in the past by astronomical observations at a distance.