State of the Universe 2008 captures the excitement and vibrancy of modern astronomical research. It details discoveries made from the world's leading ground based and orbiting observatories in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology in the last year. The volume also

presents brief summaries of the major announcements and news items.

Leading astronomers and science writers fully explain all major discoveries and events, and web links are included for all major news stories, providing a bridge between the public news stories and the actual research web sites. Written at an accessible level for both novice and experienced astronomy enthusiasts, this volume enables the reader to stay up to date with the rapid pace and development of modern astronomical research.

The first regular annual to review each year's major astronomical discoveries Written at an accessible level for both young and older astronomy enthusiasts Details discoveries in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology from all the world's leading ground based and orbiting observatories Enables the reader to stay up to date with the rapid pace and development of modern astronomical research Will have a strong appeal to amateur astronomers and be a perfect Christmas gift

Inhalt
A year in News... ...and Pictures: April 2006 March 2007.- A year in News... ...and Pictures: April 2006 March 2007.- Astronomers Gather in Seattle... ...The 209th American Astronomical Society Meeting.- Astronomers Gather in Seattle... ...The 209th American Astronomical Society Meeting.- Features.- The State of the Universe... ...New Steps in Expanding our Knowledge.- High-Stakes Astronomy at Low Frequencies... ...Opening Up a New Wavelength Frontier.- Where Do All the Stars Come from?... ...New Views of Star Formation with the Spitzer Space Telescope.- Chips off the Planetary Block... ...Building Planetary Debris Disks.- High-Energy Vision... ...The Chandra X-ray Observatory.- Surfing Long Waves of the Universe... ...The National Radio Astronomy Observatory in the 21st Century.- Through the Eyes of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey... ...Probing Deeper into the Milky Way Galaxy.- Reinventing the Hubble Space Telescope... ...The Next Hubble Servicing Mission.- The History and Future of Telescopes... ...400 Years from Galileo to Keck and Beyond.- Chasing a Runaway Universe... ...Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe.