Highlights of Astronomy: Volume 16

Highlights of Astronomy, Volume 16, summarizes the proceedings of the IAU XXVIII General Assembly held in Beijing, 20-31 August 2012, which brought together more than 2700 astronomers from 75 member countries. The wide range of topics cover the latest developments in almost every area of modern astronomy, including star formation, galaxies, the accelerating cosmos and dark energy, massive stars, high-energy emission in AGN, space-time reference systems, intergalactic magnetic fields, star-planet relations, the interstellar medium, data intensive astronomy, future large scale facilities, and Chinese astronomy. This volume features the Special Sessions, Joint Discussions and Invited Discussions that provide extended reviews of topics, as well as more focused, shorter chapters that reflect the activity of the world community in each field. Taken together with the eight IAU Symposia Proceedings (IAU S288-296), this volume presents the vast panorama of astronomical research at the time of the IAU triennial General Assembly.