When astronomers got fed up trying to look at stars through the galactic dust, they started looking at the dust instead, and discovered that it plays an important role in astrochemistry. Aimed at graduate students, but potentially useful from the senior undergraduate to the practicing professional levels, 14 review articles based on lectures at a meeting in Manchester, England, January 1992, and integrating comments on them discuss aspects of dust beyond the solar system. The topics include molecular ice, carbonaceous grains, physical and chemical processes, clump collapse and star formation, and laboratory studies. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Dust is widespread in the galaxy. To astronomers studying stars it may be just an irritating fog, but it is becoming widely recognized that cosmic dust plays an active role in astrochemistry. Without dust, the galaxy would have evolved differently, and planetary systems like ours would not have occurred.
To explore and consolidate this active area of research, Dust and Chemistry in Astronomy covers the role of dust in the formation of molecules in the interstellar medium, with the exception of dust in the solar system. Each chapter provides thorough coverage of our understanding of interstellar dust, particularly its interaction with interstellar gas. Aimed at postgraduate researchers, the book also serves as a thorough review of this significant area of astrophysics for practicing astronomers and graduate students.
