The X-ray background

The book reviews our current observational knowledge of the background radiation of the X-ray in the universe. The most relevant features of the X-ray background, discovered thirty years ago, are covered in detail. The contributions of the most recent space missions, including Ginga, Rosat, and the Astro-1 Shuttle flight are included. The topics covered embrace the spectrum of the radiation, isotropy on all angular scales and possible sources, such as active galactic nuclei and clusters of galaxies.