Division a Commission 7: Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy

Abstract

In order to mark a distinction with the traditional triennial reports, for this legacy issue we have asked our present and past OC members, as well as a few other outstanding members of the Celestial Mechanics community, to write a short essay on “recent highlights and the future of Celestial Mechanics”. Below we collect the contributions of the people who responded to our invitation. As it is natural, each of them interpreted their task differently. Some produced a dissertation on broad and general aspects, others focused on a specific topic of their interest. Some considered that their role was to provide a detailed review, with a list of key references, others preferred to mention the topics for which progress has been significant but without quoting any references, implicitly considering that this progress was possible thanks to the collective efforts of many scientists, and not just a few. This is great, as we appreciate the diversity of attitudes and opinions.