Indispensable for the building of cosmological models are
precise observational data. To provide such data is the main
purpose of this book. First, an analysis of recent
cosmological observations using artificial satellites and
large ground-based telescopes is given. Among these are the
observation of the spatial distribution of galaxies and
clusters, the detection of peculiar velocity fields in large
regions, and the measurement of anisotropies in the
microwave background radiation. Second, the authors present
theoretical models which best fit the given observational
data. The book addresses graduate students and astronomers
and astrophysicists.