This volume documents the contributions presented at the 5th Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society (SEA). Covering a wide range of topics, the 154 contributed papers give a comprehensive overview of the current state of Spanish astronomy. The proceedings include special reviews by Dr. V. Trimble and other experts dealing with the astronomical highlights of the last decade, the future of astronomical instrumentation, the scenarios of stellar evolution, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, the intergalactic medium, the ionized interstellar medium in spiral galaxies and the substellar domain in star clusters. The contents of these proceedings thus reflect the broad interests of the Spanish astronomical community.
