Planetary Science. Science of Planets Around Stars

George H. A. Cole, Michael M. Woolfson9780750308151, 0-7503-0815-X

There are many planetary systems other than our own, but it is only through a detailed understanding of the relatively accessible bodies in our solar system that a thorough appreciation of planetary science can be gained. This is particularly pertinent with the recent discovery of extra-solar planets and the desire to understand their formation and the prospect of life on other worlds. Planetary Science: The Science of Planets Around Stars focuses on the structure of planets and the stars they orbit and the interactions between them. The book is written in two parts, making it suitable for students at different levels and approaching planetary science from differing backgrounds. Twelve independent descriptive chapters reveal our solar system and the diverse bodies it contains, including satellites, planetary rings, asteroids, comets, meteorites, and interstellar dust. These chapters are accompanied by 42 detailed topics that discuss specialized subjects in a quantitative manner and will be essential reading for those in higher level courses. Coverage includes mineralogy, stellar formation and evolution, solar system dynamics, atmospheric physics, planetary interiors, thermodynamics, planetary astrophysics, and exobiology. Problems and answers are also included. Planetary Science: The Science of Planets Around Stars presents a complete overview of planetary science for students of physics, astronomy, astrophysics, earth sciences, and geophysics. Assuming no prior knowledge of astrophysics or geophysics, this book is suitable for students studying planetary science for the first time.

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Table of contents :
Planetary Science……Page 1
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Contents……Page 6
01 The Unity of the Universe……Page 22
02 The Sun and Other Stars……Page 27
03 The Planets……Page 37
04 The Terrestrial Planets……Page 48
05 The Major Planets and Pluto……Page 89
06 The Moon……Page 106
07 Satelites and Rings……Page 126
08 Asteroids……Page 145
09 Comets……Page 153
10 Meteorites……Page 165
11 Dust in the Solar System……Page 185
12 Theories of the Origin and Evolution of the Solar System……Page 189
A: Basic Mineralogy……Page 211
B Geochronology Radioactive Dating……Page 223
C The Viral Theorem……Page 237
D The Jeans Critical Mass……Page 239
E Free Fall Collapse……Page 243
F The Ecolution of Protostars……Page 246
G The Equilibrium of Stars on the Main Sequence……Page 251
H Energy Production in Stars……Page 256
I Evolution of Stars Away From the Main Sequence……Page 264
J The Chandrasekhar Limit, Neutron Stars and Black Holes……Page 272
K Planets Around Other Stars……Page 277
L Solar-System Studies to the Begining of the Seventeenth Century……Page 286
M Newton, Kepler’s Laws and Solar-System Dynamics……Page 297
N The Formation of Commensurate Orbits……Page 309
O The Atmosphere of the Earth……Page 314
P The Physics of Planetary Interiors……Page 328
Q The Transfer of Heat……Page 339
R Seismology – the Interior of the Earth……Page 345
S Moments of Inertia……Page 355
T The Gravitational Field of a Distorted Planet……Page 360
U Precession of Earth’s Spin Axis……Page 362
V Intrinsic Planetary Magnetism……Page 366
W Magnetic Interactions Between Planet and Star……Page 385
X Planetary Albedoes……Page 401
Y The Physics of Tides……Page 404
Z Darwin’s Theory of Lunar Origin……Page 414
AA The Roch Limit and Satelite Disruption……Page 416
AB Tidal Heating of Io……Page 423
AC The Ram Pressure of a Gas Stream……Page 426
AD The Trojan Asteroids……Page 428
AE Heating by Accretion……Page 432
AF Perturbations of the Oort Cloud……Page 437
AG Radiation Pressure and the Poynting-Robertson Effect……Page 445
AH Analyses Associated with the Jeans Tidal Theory……Page 447
AI The Viscus-Disc Mechanism for the Transfer of Angular Momentum……Page 451
AJ Magnetic Breaking of the Spinning Sun……Page 453
AK The Safronov Theory of Planet Formation……Page 457
AL The Eddington Accrtion Mechanism……Page 461
AM Life on a Hospitable Planet……Page 463
AN The Role of Space Vehicles……Page 472
AO Planetary Atmospheric Warming……Page 477
AP Migration of Planetary Orbits……Page 480
AQ Interactions in an Embedded Cluster……Page 485
Appendix I……Page 488
Physical Constants……Page 495
References……Page 497
Index……Page 499
Back Cover……Page 507