The importance of shock waves in astrophysics has long been recognized by the astrophysical community and their study has developed rapidly, driven by increasingly sensitive observations and significant advances in computer power. Shock waves affect astronomical objects on scales from that of the solar wind-terrestrial environment to stellar jets in molecular clouds, and to galactic-scale events. This volume contains reviews by many of the leading researchers in shock wave astrophysics and covers observational and theoretical studies of shocks in a variety of situations from Herbig-Haro objects to supernova remnants to active galactic nuclei. The reviews are supported by contributed oral and poster papers which discuss a wide variety of observational and theoretical results.

Table of Contents:
Circumstellar Shocks (R).- The Observational Study of Herbig-Haro Shock Waves (R).- IR Observations of Shock Waves in the Interstellar Medium (R).- Observations of Shocked H2 and [FEII] Line Profiles in Orion Bullet Wakes (C).- H2 Fluorescence in HH7 and DR21 (C).- Shocks in the L1551–IRS5 Outflow Optical and Near-Infrared Imaging (P).- Proper Motion Measurements in Various Young Stellar Object Jets in Taurus (P).- Near-Infrared Imaging in H2 of Molecular (CO) Outflows from Young Stars (P).- NIR Spectroscopy and Molecular Shocks in Herbig-Haro 1 (P).- H2 in Molecular Shocks: Observations from 2 to 12 Microns (P).- Shocked Molecular Hydrogen in the LkHa 234 Region (P).- Smoke Rings around Supernova 1987A (P).- Models of Molecular Outflows (R).- Multifluid Models of Shocks in Magnetized Interstellar Molecular Clouds (R).- Grain Destruction in Interstellar Shock Waves (R).- The Importance of Chemical Data for the Study of Interstellar Shocks (R).- Molecular Mixing Layers in Stellar Outflows (C).- Shock Focusing and Jet Collimation in Young Stars (O).- Disintegration of Dust Aggregates in Interstellar Shocks and the Lifetime of Dust Grains in the ISM (P).- Molecular Diagnostics of Diffusive Boundary Layers (P).- HH30: The Interaction of a Herbig-Haro Jet with a Stratified Medium? (P).- Low Velocity Shock-Cloud Encounters I. Two Dimensional Hydrodynamical Model (P).- Low Velocity Shock-Cloud Encounters II. Observations and Interpretation (P).- Shocks of High Velocity Clouds and the Galactic Disk: 3D Numerical Simulations (P).- Non-Thermal Excitation of H2 in Molecular Clouds (P).- Phase Transitions in the ISM — A Source of Dissipative Behaviour (P).- All’s Knot Quiet on the Recombination Front (P).- Flows and Shocks in Active Galaxies and Their Nuclei (R).-Photoionising Shocks in SNRs and AGN (R).- Diagnostics of Supernova Remnant Shock Waves (R).- Shock Instabilities (R).- Particle Acceleration in Shocks (R).- Composite Models (Shock and Photoionisation) for the Interpretation of AGN Spectra (C).- MHD Simulations of Rayleigh-Taylor Instability in Young Supernova Remnants (C).- A Distribution Function Calculation of the Ha Profiles of SNR Filaments (C).- Supernova Remnants in the Starburst Galaxy M82 (C).- Self-Consistent Theory of White Dwarf Burning in Supernova la Events (C).- Shocks and Shells in Hot Star Winds (C).- Simulations of the Wardle Instability of C-Type Shock Waves (P).- A Numerical Method for Particle Acceleration in Shocks (P).- The Deflection of Jets by Clouds (P).- Interacting Winds in Classical Nova Outbursts (P).- The Location and X-Ray Emission of Shocks around Isolated Be Stars (P).- Bipolar Outflows from Stars and Galaxies as a Tornado Phenomenon (P).