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Article Contents

ABSTRACT

1.INTRODUCTION

2.OUR OWN BACKYARD - THE SOLAR SYSTEM

2.1.The collision of Comet SL-9 with Jupiter

3.EXTRASOLAR PLANETS

3.1.Where have all the planets gone?

3.2.The transiting planet HD 209458

4.STARS AT BIRTH AND DEATH

4.1.Outflows and jets from young stellar objects

4.2.Protoplanetary disks

4.3.Morphology of stellar deaths

5.BLACK HOLES - FROM SUPERMASSIVE TO STELLAR

5.1.Search techniques for supermassive black holes

5.2.The MBH - relationship

5.3.Intermediate-mass black holes?

5.4.Gamma-ray bursts

6.DEEP FIELDS AND A BRIEF COSMIC HISTORY

6.1.The morphology and sizes of high-redshift galaxies

6.2.The global cosmic star-formation history

7.THE HUBBLE CONSTANT

7.1.A brief background

7.2.Distance indicators and methods

7.3.The results

8.THE ACCELERATING UNIVERSE

8.1.The observations

8.2.Alternative interpretations

8.3.Supernova 1997ff - serendipity and careful planning

8.4.The nature of "dark energy"

9.EPILOGUE

REFERENCES