Post-Hipparcos Cosmic Candles

This book is a timely first review since the dramatic change brought about in the field by the release of the Hipparcos catalogue. Chapters by leading experts detail the various approaches of one of the most challenging cosmological issues: the scale of the universe. After summarizing the contribution of the Hipparcos satellite itself, the volume starts with chapters concerning the primary distance indicators (Classical Cepheids, RR Lyrae stars, Miras, subdwarfs, ...). Then our present knowledge of the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud is reviewed, as well as extragalactic distance determinations with a group of chapters dedicated to secondary indicators. The role of the microlensing surveys is also presented as well as the up-to-date results of stellar evolution theory, together with a frank admission of their limits! This book will be read by researchers and students active in determining cosmic distances, as well as by cosmologists, scientists and philosophers interested in the issue of the scale of the universe.