title: Introduction. Progress in astronomy: from gravitational waves to space weather.
abstract: This brief paper introduces and reviews the 'visions of the future' articles prepared by leading young scientists throughout the world for the first of two Christmas 2008 Triennial issues of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, devoted, respectively, to astronomy and Earth science. Contributions in astronomy include the very topical gamma-ray bursts, new ideas on stellar collapse and the unusual atmospheres of synchronized planets orbiting nearby stars.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge, UK. jmtt@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: J Michael T
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D001256:Astronomy; D001272:Atmosphere; D018534:Earth, Planet; D018559:Exobiology; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D006801:Humans; D016083:Planets; D014887:Weather