IAU Colloquium 164: Radio Emission from Galactic and Extragalactic Compact Sources

21-26 April 1997, Socorro, New Mexico, USA

This conference was hosted by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and it was co-sponsored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the International Union of Radio Science (URSI), NRAO and Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMIMT).

This Colloquium marked the 30th anniversary of the first successful experiments in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). At the time of the meeting, this technique had developed at a rapid pace, and had produced spectacular results in a variety of astronomical research areas by steadily advancing towards higher resolution, sensitivity, and image quality. Several regional arrays and the global VLBI array had become routinely available, and the first fully dedicated VLBI array, the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), had begun operating with great success. The first space VLBI mission (VSOP) was underway and was expected to begin scientific operation in early 1997. New VLBI antennas, advanced recording systems, and new correlators were under construction around the world, and new methods for data processing and analysis were being developed.

This meeting brought together researchers primarily interested in the astronomical use of VLBI provided a forum for the discussion of research results from VLBI, and for the formation of new technical and scientific ideas that would shape future developments in VLBI.