This book contains up-to-date review articles on all important aspects of strong gravitational lensing, written by the top experts in the field. The chapters cover themes like the search for strong lenses, lensing as a probe for dark matter, lensing and microlensing of supernovae, to name just a few. The topical reviews are framed by two complementary introductory articles on “Essentials” and “Basic Elements”, respectively, of strong gravitational lensing.
This book is aimed both at front-line researchers and at newcomers and students, offering a comprehensive treatment that bridges fundamental concepts with the latest advances in gravitational lensing
Europe hosts a large and highly active community of scientists working in the broad domain of Heliophysics. This broad discipline addresses plasmas in the regions of space and atmosphere influenced by the Sun and solar wind. However, this community has historically been fragmented, both geographically and thematically, which has limited the potential for strategic coordination, collaboration, and growth. This has recently prompted a grass-roots community-building effort to foster communication and interactions within the European Heliophysics Community (EHC). This white paper outlines the motivation, priorities, and initial steps towards establishing the EHC, and presents a vision for the future of Heliophysics in Europe. As a crucial first step of this endeavour, a dedicated EHC website is now available: https://www.heliophysics.eu/ (last access: November 2025).
The aim of this outcome - resulting from an ISSI Workshop - is to highlight the progress in early Solar System research during the past two decades and from this provide an update on the current knowledge of protoplanetary disk processes, as well as planetesimal and planet formation and their early evolution.
As climate change intensifies, adaptation is essential. This Perspective explores how space-based Earth Observation (EO) data can support tracking progress under the Paris Agreement's Global Goal on Adaptation. Focusing on agriculture, biodiversity, extreme events, and health, it highlights EO’s strengths and challenges. The paper offers recommendations for integrating EO in indicator development, drawing parallels with the Sustainable Development Goals and emphasising the need for standardised, operational EO-based adaptation indicators.
This volume addresses the growing scientific concern surrounding climate tipping points—abrupt and potentially irreversible shifts in the Earth system that may occur even under moderate global warming. It explores key examples, including the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and greenhouse gas release from thawing permafrost. Over the past three decades, Earth observation satellites have become vital for detecting and tracking such changes by measuring essential climate variables. The volume presents current perspectives on how satellite data can advance the science of tipping points and support efforts to assess and manage associated risks.
This collection presents results from the Workshop "Magnetic Reconnection: Explosive Energy Conversion in Space Plasmas", held 27 June–1 July 2022, which aims to review progress in research of magnetic reconnection and relevant processes in space plasma, based on recent in-situ multipoint observations and theoretical simulations, and to discuss its astrophysical context.
With stunning clarity, the JWST has revealed the Universe’s first billion years. The scientific community is analysing a wealth of JWST imaging and spectroscopic data from that era, and is in the process of rewriting the astronomy textbooks. Here, as a result of the 2024 ISSI Breakthrough Workshop, we provide a snapshot of the great progress made towards understanding the initial chapters of our cosmic history 1.5 years into the JWST science mission.
This is a critical moment in the history of Earth: humans are ending 3.5–3.8 billion years of relative isolation of the terrestrial biosphere from interaction with its cosmic environment1,2, and may now leave lasting physical, chemical, biological, and unforeseen impacts beyond Earth. Crewed missions, alongside technological advancements in the new space age — such as miniaturization and the use of artificial intelligence — accelerate this trend. Decisions with potentially far-reaching cosmic consequences are being made. Hence, there is an urgent need for action.
Annual Report 2024 (Business Year 29)
This volume offers a thorough exploration of the observation of Earth's water–energy cycle, a foundational aspect of climate science. It features a collection of up-to-date articles that provide insights into current estimates of the Earth’s water and energy fluxes, based on satellite observations, atmosphere–ocean reanalyses, and global coupled atmosphere–ocean model simulations. The book deepens our understanding of the role of clouds in the energy cycle, focusing particularly on tropical clouds and their responses to surface warming patterns, which influence global warming. It also examines the connection between tropical clouds and deep convection in the tropics. Furthermore, the volume identifies key priorities for developing an integrated and optimized observation system for Earth's water–energy cycle. It highlights the challenges currently faced in monitoring and modeling this cycle to improve predictions on annual to multi-decadal timescales.
