We present a new version of the Sternberg Astronomical Institite Supernova Catalogue and the results of our investigation of the supernova radial distribution in their host galaxies based on the new data.

SN 1006 was the first (and for a very long time the only) event to be caught before peak light. A passage which, according to Stephenson, does not actually pertain to the SN, nevertheless makes clear that, even then, a hypothesis was more likely to be accepted if it made a prediction later verified, though the prediction was that something bad would happen to Emperor Sanjo In. The hypothesis was that the star was not new, but related to behavior of existing stars in Qichen Jianjun. According to the poster by P.J. Boner, Kepler made the opposite choice for ‘his’ SN, calling it a genuinely new star formed out of the ether, rather than mere change in appearance. Indeed the distinction between true novae and variable stars was not drawn correctly until Hevelius's 1662 study of Mira, after Tycho had shown that his event (and the comet of 1577) were more distant than our Moon, a point disputed by many of his contemporaries, but accepted by Galileo, who applied a very early statistical method to many different observations of SN 1572. Tycho's main advantages were better equipment and hard work, again not so different from present conditions.

The astronomical study of planets is as old as Galileo's telescope, but in a profound way it was reborn with the advent of the Space Age. By constructing probes capable of leaving the surface of the Earth and traveling to other places in our solar system, sending back data collected from the very places that the astronomers wished to study, for the first time we were freed from the restrictions of observing astronomical objects from afar. These in-situ measurements, in their turn, have inspired countless new research projects back on Earth, from laboratory studies of materials to telescopic observations, of objects and in wavelengths now known to be of astronomical interest, thanks to those probes.

Results of the Genesis mission to sample the solar wind are summarized.

Results of the Hayabusa mission to image and sample the asteroid Itokawa are summarized.

Results of the Deep Impact mission to impact Comet Tempel 1 are summarized.

Results of the Stardust mission to sample dust from comet Wild 2 are summarized.

Results of the SMART-1 mission to Earth's Moon are summarized.

Results of the Venus Express mission to Venus are summarized.

Results of the Mars Express mission to Mars are summarized.

Results of the Mars Exploration Rover mission to Mars are summarized.

With the first discovery of surviving pre-solar minerals in primitive meteorites in 1987 a new kind of astronomy emerged, based on the study of stellar condensates with all the detailed methods available to modern analytical laboratories. The pre-solar origin of the grains is indicated by considerable isotopic ratio variations compared with Solar System materials, characteristic of nuclear processes in different types of stars.

Small amounts of pre-solar grains have survived in the matrices of primitive meteorites and interplanetary dust particles. Their detailed study in the laboratory with modern analytical tools provides highly accurate and detailed information with regard to stellar nucleosynthesis and evolution, grain formation in stellar atmospheres, and Galactic Chemical Evolution. Their survival puts constraints on conditions they were exposed to in the interstellar medium and in the Early Solar System.

The vast majority of pre-solar grains recovered to date show the signature of an origin in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. In AGB stars, the abundances of elements lighter than silicon and heavier than iron are largely affected by proton- and neutron-capture processes, respectively, while the compositions of the elements in between also carry the signature of the initial composition of the star. Dust is produced and observed around AGB stars and the strong mass loss experienced by these stars is believed to be driven by radiation pressure on dust grains. We briefly review the main developments that have occurred in the past few years in the study of AGB stars in relation to dust and pre-solar grains. From the nucleosynthesis point of view these include: more stringent constraints on the main neutron source nucleus, 13C, for the slow neutron capture process (the s process); the possibility of pre-solar grains coming from massive AGB stars; and the unique opportunity to infer the ‘isotopic’ evolution of the Galaxy by combining pre-solar grain data and AGB model predictions. Concerning the formation of grains in AGB stars, considerable progress has been achieved in modelling. In particular, self-consistent models for atmospheres and winds of C-stars have reached a level of sophistication which allows direct quantitative comparison with observations. In the case of stars with C/O < 1, however, recent work points to serious problems with the dust-driven wind scenario. A current trend in atmosphere and wind modelling is to investigate the possible effects of inhomogenieties (e.g., due to giant convection cells) with 2D/3D models.

Pre-solar grains from supernova ejecta – silicon carbide of type X, Si3N4 and low-density graphite – are characterized by Si isotopic anomalies (mainly 28Si excesses), low 14N/15N, high 26Al/27 Al ratios, and occasionally by excesses in 44Ca (from 44Ti decay). Overall isotopic features of these SiC and graphite grains can be explained by mixing of inner Si-rich zones and the outer C-and He-rich zones, but supernova models require fine tuning to account for 14N/15N and 29Si/28Si ratios of the grains. Isotopic ratios of Zr, Mo and Ba in SiC X grains may be explained by a neutron burst model. Some of the pre-solar nanodiamonds require a supernova origin to explain measured xenon isotopic ratios. Only a few nova grain candidates, with low 12C/13C, 14N/15N, and high 26Al/27 Al ratios, have been identified.

Several types of pre-solar grains, grains that existed prior to solar system formation, have been found in the fine-grained components of primitive meteorites, interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), and comet samples. Known pre-solar components have isotopic compositions that reflect formation from the ejecta of evolved stars. Other pre-solar materials may have isotopic compositions very similar to solar system materials, making their identification as pre-solar grains problematic. Pre-solar materials exhibit a range of chemical and thermal resistance, so their relative abundances can be used to probe the conditions in the solar nebula. Detailed information on the relative abundances of pre-solar and solar-system materials can provide information on the temperatures, radiation environment, and degree of radial mixing in the early solar system.

As pristine condensates from a large number of stars, pre-solar grains provide unique information on the sources, types, compositions and processing histories of dust in the Galaxy. However, their promise remains largely unfulfilled. Here we discuss some of the astrophysical problems for which pre-solar grains might provide important insights and constraints in coming years.

The greatest discoveries in astronomy have accompanied technological innovations that have opened new windows of the electromagnetic spectrum. One of the last poorly explored regions lies at wavelengths longer than 3 m (100 MHz) to the ionospheric cutoff around 30 m (10 MHz). In the past, variations in the ionosphere have limited ground-based instruments to small (< 5 km) apertures and hence relatively coarse angular resolution and low sensitivity.

A brief review is given of radio phenomena on the Sun, the planet Jupiter, and the interplanetary medium and its outer boundary. A brief aside is made to draw parallels between radio emission from Jupiter and extrasolar planets.

Results of the last observations of solar sporadic radio emission at the UTR-2 radio telescope (Kharkov, Ukraine) at the frequencies 10 - 30 MHz are presented. The use of new backend facilities, the DSP and 60-channel spectrometer, allows us to obtain data with time resolution up to 2 ms and frequency resolution of 12 kHz in the continuous frequency band 12 MHz. Usual Type III bursts, Type IIIb bursts, U- and J-bursts in the decameter range are discussed. Special attention is paid to detection and analysis of Type II bursts and their properties, newly discovered fine time structures of Type III bursts, Type III-like bursts, s-bursts, new observational features of drift pair bursts, and ‘absorption’ bursts.