Offers a detailed discussion of the physical and chemical processes that shape planets and planetary systems
A quantitative introduction to the Solar System and planetary systems science for advanced undergraduate students, this engaging new textbook explains the wide variety of physical, chemical and geological processes that govern the motions and properties of planets. The authors provide an overview of our current knowledge and discuss some of the unanswered questions at the forefront of research in planetary science and astrobiology today. They combine knowledge of the Solar System and the properties of extrasolar planets with astrophysical observations of ongoing star and planet formation, offering a comprehensive model for understanding the origin of planetary systems. The book concludes with an introduction to the fundamental properties of living organisms and the relationship that life has to its host planet.
With more than 200 exercises to help students learn how to apply the concepts covered, this textbook is ideal for a one-semester or two-quarter course for undergraduate students.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Dynamics
- Solar heating and energy transport
- Planetary atmospheres
- Planetary surfaces
- Planetary interiors
- Magnetic fields and plasmas
- Meteorites
- Minor planets
- Comets
- Planetary rings
- Extrasolar planets
- Planet formation
- Planets and life
The author Jack J. Lissauer is a Space Scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, and a consulting professor at Stanford University.
The author Imke de Pater is a Professor in the Astronomy Department and the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and is affiliated with the Delft Institute of Earth Observation and Space Systems at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.
