A review of Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion

If a point mass moves through a uniform gas cloud, at what rate does it accrete material? This is the question studied by Bondi, Hoyle and Lyttleton. This paper draws together the work performed in this area since the problem was first studied. Time has shown that, despite the simplifications made, Bondi, Hoyle and Lyttleton made quite accurate predictions for the accretion rate. Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion has found application in many fields of astronomy, and these are also discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.