As the nearest radio galaxy, Cygnus A provides a unique testing ground for models of active galaxies and a bench-mark against which other (more distant) sources can be compared. A workshop in Greenbank, West Virginia, gathered together experts from around the world to review our current knowledge of Cygnus A and to synthesise a new understanding of it and other active galaxies. Based on this, thirty-six specially written chapters by a host of international experts are presented in this timely volume. They review two decades of observations of Cygnus A, including the latest results from the newest instruments, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the Japanese X-ray satellite ASCA and the Very Long Baseline Array. This volume provides a comprehensive and up-to-date reference on Cygnus A and shows how studies of this object can help with our more general understanding of radio galaxies in dense cluster atmospheres and active galactic nuclei (AGN). It provides an excellent introduction and overview for graduate students as well as a critical update for researchers in AGN.

Table of Contents

Participants; Group photograph; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; The optical galaxy and the hidden quasar; The radio jets and hot spots; The radio lobes and the cluster gas; Cygnus A in context; Conference summary; Subject and object index.