Volume 36 of Reviews in Mineralogy presents a comprehensive coverage of the mineralogy and petrology of planetary materials. The book is organized with an introductory chapter that introduces the reader to the nature of the planetary sample suite and provides some insights into the diverse environments from which they come. Chapter 2 on Interplanetary Dust Particles (IDPs) and Chapter 3 on Chondritic Meteorites deal with the most primitive and unevolved materials we have to work with. It is these materials that hold the clues to the nature of the solar nebula and the processes that led to the initial stages of planetary formation. Chapter 4, 5, and 6 consider samples from evolved asteroids, the Moon and Mars respectively. Chapter 7 is a brief summary chapter that compares aspects of melt-derived minerals from differing planetary environments.
This volume addresses a new opportunity in the planetary sciencesâ€"to extend our exploration outward to discover and study planetary systems that may have formed or are forming around other stars. It concludes that a coordinated program of astronomical observation, laboratory research, theoretical development, and understanding of the dynamics and origins of whatever may be found would be a technologically feasible and potentially richly rewarding extension of the study of bodies within the solar system.
This volume of the EMU Notes in Mineralogy is one of the outcomes of a school in planetary mineralogy that was held in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2014. The school was inspired by the recent advances in our understanding of the nature and evolution of our Solar System that have come from the missions to study and sample asteroids and comets, and the very successful Mars orbiters and landers. At the same time our horizons have expanded greatly with the discovery of extrasolar protoplanetary disks, planets and planetary systems by space telescopes. The continued success of such telescopic and robotic exploration requires a supply of highly skilled people and so one of the goals of the Glasgow school was to help build a community of early-career planetary scientists and space engineers.
Since the last joint IAU and COSPAR Colloquium in Gainesville in 1995, there have been dramatic changes in the field resulting from in-situ space experiments, Earth orbiting satellites and ground based observations. The brightest comet since the early years of the twentieth century, comet Hale-Bopp, appeared, giving an invaluable opportunity to see in action one great source of interplanetary dust. Similarly, the Leonid meteor shower has been at its most active since 1966, producing spectacular displays of meteors and allowing for an array of observational techniques, not available in 1966 to be used, while theory has also been refined to a level where very accurate predictions of the timing of meteor storms has become possible. Prior to the meeting a total eclipse of the Sun in South West England and North Europe was observed, traditionally a good opportunity to observe the Zodiacal cloud. The knowledge of the Near-Earth Asteroid population has also increased dramatically, with the increased study arising from the heightened awareness of the danger to Earth from such bodies. Extrasolar planets have been discovered since the last meeting and it is recognised that interplanetary dust in other Planetary Systems can now be studied. Since much of the dust observed in such systems is at a distance of order 100 AU from the star, this brings into focus the production of dust in the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt of our own system. Recent years have seen a recognition of the importance of dust originating outside our own system, that is now present in the near-Earth environment. As is always the case when great strides take place observationally, much theoretical work follows, and the same is true in this instance. While data about the planetary medium from Venus to Jupiter was beginning to be available at the meeting in 1995, the data from both Galileo and Ulysses have now been more fully analysed, with a corresponding increase in our knowledge. This book reflects the thematic approach adopted at the meeting, with a flow outwards (from meteors in the atmosphere, through zodiacal dust observation and interplanetary dust, to extra solar planetary systems) and returning (via the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt and comets) to the Earth, with laboratory studies of physical and chemical processes and the study of extra-terrestrial samples.
Planetary Surface Processes is the first advanced textbook to cover the full range of geologic processes that shape the surfaces of planetary-scale bodies. Using a modern, quantitative approach, this book reconsiders geologic processes outside the traditional terrestrial context. It highlights processes that are contingent upon Earth's unique circumstances and processes that are universal. For example, it shows explicitly that equations predicting the velocity of a river are dependent on gravity: traditional geomorphology textbooks fail to take this into account. This textbook is a one-stop source of information on planetary surface processes, providing readers with the necessary background to interpret new data from NASA, ESA and other space missions. Based on a course taught by the author at the University of Arizona for 25 years, it is aimed at advanced students, and is also an invaluable resource for researchers, professional planetary scientists and space-mission engineers.
Planetary Systems Now offers a broad, interdisciplinary perspective and introduction to the latest results from leading experts in each field. It offers an unusually wide range of research on topics both inside and outside of the solar system, as well as the most recent results from ongoing ground- and space-based investigations. Experts in their field come together in this volume to discuss solar system exploration with its most recent space missions, theories and evidence concerning planetary system formation, and the nature and formation of exoplanets and exoplanetary systems.Including both questions and answers, this book is intended to be a readable, heavily-illustrated stepping-off point for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scientists beginning research in planetary and exoplanetary science topics.
Comprises 28 papers which grew out of the International Conference on Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution, August/September, 1992 in Sudbury, Ontario. The interdisciplinary papers, encompassing diverse studies from trace element geochemistry to planetary exploration, are arranged into f
