Afterword to the 2017 edition

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Chambers ◽  
Jacqueline Mitton
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Space Missions ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
The Way

Science is a voyage of discovery, a lasting quest to find the truth, with many twists and turns along the way. Planetary science—the study of how planetary systems form and evolve—is no exception. In fact, a great deal has happened in the few short years since we first wrote this book. Many new discoveries have been made by space missions, by astronomers using telescopes, and by researchers in laboratories using computers. These discoveries have naturally influenced the way we think about our solar system and how it formed. Some discoveries have confirmed previous predictions while others have forced researchers to modify their theories. Occasionally, a discovery has thrown open a new window, greatly increasing the range of possible scenarios. This afterword is a brief tour of some recent discoveries and what they might mean....

scholarly journals The interiors of Uranus and Neptune: current understanding and open questions

2020 ◽  
Vol 378 (2187) ◽  
pp. 20190474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ravit Helled ◽  
Jonathan J. Fortney
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Internal Structure ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Space Missions ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Interior Structure ◽  
Distinct Class ◽  
Open Questions

Uranus and Neptune form a distinct class of planets in our Solar System. Given this fact, and ubiquity of similar-mass planets in other planetary systems, it is essential to understand their interior structure and composition. However, there are more open questions regarding these planets than answers. In this review, we concentrate on the things we do not know about the interiors of Uranus and Neptune with a focus on why the planets may be different, rather than the same. We next summarize the knowledge about the planets’ internal structure and evolution. Finally, we identify the topics that should be investigated further on the theoretical front as well as required observations from space missions. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Future exploration of ice giant systems’.

Epilogue: Paradigms, Problems, and Predictions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Chambers ◽  
Jacqueline Mitton
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Good Time ◽  
Science Program ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Powerful Stimulus ◽  
Rapid Pace ◽  
Over Time

This concluding chapter talks about how astronomers and space agencies in dozens of countries are helping to see the solar system as never before, transforming points of light into real worlds, and even bringing samples of those worlds back to Earth. At the same time, the stunning discovery of hundreds of other planetary systems in the galaxy has provided a powerful stimulus to understand how planetary systems form and evolve, and to find out what makes one system different from another. Moreover, in 2010, NASA announced its latest science plan. One of the key goals for NASA's future planetary science program is to learn how the Sun's family began and how it has changed over time. The chapter argues that the rapid pace of recent developments makes now a good time to take stock of what scholars know, even though the story is still incomplete.

scholarly journals Organic chemistry in space and the search for life in our Solar System 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Ehrenfreund
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Space Missions ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Solar Ultraviolet Radiation ◽  
Hayabusa 2 ◽  
Human Exploration

<p>One of the most fascinating questions in planetary science is how life originated on Earth and whether life exists beyond Earth. Life on Earth originated approximately 3.5 billion years ago and has adapted to nearly every explored environment including the deep ocean, dry deserts and ice continents. What were the chemical raw materials available for life to develop? Many carbonaceous compounds are identified by astronomical observations in our Solar System and beyond. Small Solar System bodies hold clues to both processes that formed our Solar System and the processes that probably contributed carbonaceous molecules and volatiles during the heavy bombardment phase to the young planets in our Solar System. The latter process may have contributed to life’s origin on Earth. Space missions that investigate the composition of comets and asteroids and in particular their organic content provide major opportunities to determine the prebiotic reservoirs that were available to early Earth and Mars. Recently, the Comet rendezvous mission Rosetta has monitored the evolution of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during its approach to the Sun. Rosetta observed numerous volatiles and complex organic compounds on the cometary surface and in the coma. JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 mission has returned samples from near-Earth asteroid Ryugu in December 2020 and we may have some interesting scientific results soon. Hayabusa-2 also carried the German-French landing module MASCOT (mobile asteroid surface scout) that provided new insights into the structure and composition of the asteroid Ryugu during its 17-hour scientific exploration.</p><p>Presently, a fleet of robotic space missions target planets and moons in order to assess their habitability and to seek biosignatures of simple extraterrestrial life beyond Earth. Prime future targets in the outer Solar System include moons that may harbor internal oceans such as Europa, Enceladus, and Titan. Life may have emerged during habitable periods on Mars and evidence of life may still be preserved in the subsurface, evaporite deposits, caves, or polar regions. On Mars, a combination of solar ultraviolet radiation and oxidation processes are destructive to organic material and life on and close to the surface. However, the progress and the revolutionary quality and quantity of data on “extreme life” on Earth has transformed our view of habitability. In 2021, we will hopefully have three robotic missions arriving at Mars from China, the United Arab Emirates and NASA (Tianwen-1, Hope, and Mars2020 respectively). In 2022, ESA’s ExoMars program will launch the Rosalind Franklin Rover and landing platform, and drill two meters deep into the Martian subsurface for the first time. Mars is still the central object of interest for habitability studies and life detection beyond Earth, paving the way for returned samples and human exploration.</p><p>Measurements from laboratory, field, and space simulations are vital in the preparation phase for future planetary exploration missions. This Cassini lecture will review the evolution and distribution of organic matter in space, including results from space missions, field and laboratory research, and discuss the science and technology preparation necessary for robotic and human exploration efforts investigating habitability and biosignatures in our Solar System.</p>

Solar Wind: Interaction With Planets

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Arridge
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Plasma Physics ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Space Missions ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Space Program ◽  
Solar Wind Interaction ◽  
Radiation Physics

The interaction between the solar wind and planetary bodies in our solar system has been investigated since well before the space age. The study of the aurora borealis and australis was a feature of the Enlightenment and many of the biggest names in science during that period had studied the aurora. Many of the early scientific discoveries that emerged from the burgeoning space program in the 1950s and 1960s were related to the solar wind and its interaction with planets, starting with the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts in 1958. With the advent of deep space missions, such as Venera 4, Pioneer 10, and the twin Voyager spacecraft, the interaction of the solar wind other planets was investigated and has evolved into a sub-field closely allied to planetary science. The variety in solar system objects, from rocky planets with thick atmospheres, to airless bodies, to comets, to giant planets, is reflected in the richness in the physics found in planetary magnetospheres and the solar wind interaction. Studies of the solar wind-planet interaction has become a consistent feature of more recent space missions such as Cassini-Huygens (Saturn), Juno (Jupiter), New Horizons (Pluto) and Rosetta (67/P Churyumov–Gerasimenko), as well more dedicated missions in near-Earth space, such as Cluster and Magnetosphere Multiscale. The field is now known by various terms, including space (plasma) physics and solar-terrestrial physics, but it is an interdisciplinary science involving plasma physics, electromagnetism, radiation physics, and fluid mechanics and has important links with other fields of space science, including solar physics, planetary aeronomy, and planetary geophysics. Increasingly, the field is relying on high-performance computing and methods from data science to answer important questions and to develop predictive capabilities. The article explores the origins of the field, examines discoveries made during the heyday of the space program to the late 1970s and 1980s, and other hot topics in the field.

scholarly journals Organic chemistry in space and the search for life in our Solar System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Ehrenfreund
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Organic Material ◽  
Space Missions ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Space Environment ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Solar Ultraviolet Radiation ◽  
Life Detection ◽  
Hayabusa 2 ◽  
Human Exploration

<p>One of the most fascinating questions in planetary science is how life originated on Earth and whether life exists beyond Earth. Carbonaceous compounds in the gas and solid state, refractory and icy are identified by astronomical observations in our Solar System, and distant galaxies. Among them are a large number of molecules that are essential in prebiotic chemistry and used in contemporary biochemistry on Earth. Life on Earth originated approximately 3.5 billion years ago and has adapted to nearly every explored environment. What was chemical raw materials available for life to develop? Small Solar System bodies hold clues to processes that formed our Solar System and probably contributed carbonaceous molecules and volatiles during the heavy bombardment phase to the young planets. This process may have contributed to life’s origin on Earth. Space missions that investigate the composition of comets and asteroids and in particular their organic content provide major opportunities to determine the prebiotic reservoirs available to the early Earth and Mars. Recently, the Comet rendezvous mission Rosetta has monitored the evolution of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during its approach to the Sun and observed numerous volatiles and complex organic compound on the cometary surface and in the coma. Several asteroid sample return missions are currently operational such as JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 which was launched in 2014 and will return samples to Earth in 2020. Hayabusa-2 also carried the German-French landing module MASCOT (mobile asteroid surface scout) that provided during the 17 hours of intensive scientific exploration new insights into the structure and composition of the asteroid Ryugu.</p><p>A fleet of robotic space missions currently targets planets and moons in order to assess their habitability and to seek biosignatures of simple extraterrestrial life beyond Earth. Prime targets in the outer Solar System include moons that may harbor internal oceans such as Europa, Enceladus, and Titan. Life may have emerged during habitable periods on Mars and remains may still be preserved in the subsurface, evaporite deposits, caves or polar regions. On Mars, a combination of solar ultraviolet radiation and oxidation processes are destructive to organic material and life on and close to the surface. However, the progress and the revolutionary quality and quantity of data on “extreme life” on Earth have transformed our view of habitability. In 2020, ESA’s ExoMars program will launch the Rosalind Franklin Rover and landing platform, and drill for the first time 2m deep into the Martian subsurface. Mars is still the central object of interest for habitability studies and life detection beyond Earth, paving the way for returned samples and human exploration.</p><p>Knowledge on the evolution of organic material in space environment such as their photochemistry and preservation potential are crucial to advance life detection strategies and instrument development. This Cassini lecture will review the evolution of organic matter in space including recent observations, space missions and laboratory research and discuss the science and technology preparation necessary for robotic and human exploration efforts investigating habitability and biosignatures in our Solar System.</p>

scholarly journals Dynamical Problems in Extrasolar Planetary Science

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29A) ◽  
pp. 3-5
Author(s):  
Alessandro Morbidelli ◽  
Nader Haghighipour
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Extrasolar Planets ◽  
Planet Formation ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Orbital Dynamics ◽  
The Past

The past few years have witnessed a large increase in the number of extrasolar planets. Thanks to successful surveys from the ground and from space, there are now over 1000 confirmed exoplanets and more then 3000 planetary candidates. More than 130 of these systems host multiple planets. Many of these systems demonstrate physical and orbital characteristics fundamentally different from those of our solar system. The challenges associated with the diversity of planetary systems have raised many interesting questions on planet formation and orbital dynamics.

From Dust to Life

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Chambers ◽  
Jacqueline Mitton
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Extrasolar Planets ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
History Of Astronomy ◽  
Human Origins ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Emergence Of Life

The birth and evolution of our solar system is a tantalizing mystery that may one day provide answers to the question of human origins. This book tells the remarkable story of how the celestial objects that make up the solar system arose from common beginnings billions of years ago, and how scientists and philosophers have sought to unravel this mystery down through the centuries, piecing together the clues that enabled them to deduce the solar system's layout, its age, and the most likely way it formed. Drawing on the history of astronomy and the latest findings in astrophysics and the planetary sciences, the book offers the most up-to-date and authoritative treatment of the subject available. It examines how the evolving universe set the stage for the appearance of our Sun, and how the nebulous cloud of gas and dust that accompanied the young Sun eventually became the planets, comets, moons, and asteroids that exist today. It explores how each of the planets acquired its unique characteristics, why some are rocky and others gaseous, and why one planet in particular—our Earth—provided an almost perfect haven for the emergence of life. The book takes readers to the very frontiers of modern research, engaging with the latest controversies and debates. It reveals how ongoing discoveries of far-distant extrasolar planets and planetary systems are transforming our understanding of our own solar system's astonishing history and its possible fate.

Exploring the Solar System

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Schrijver
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Planetary Systems ◽  
Interplanetary Dust ◽  
Terrestrial Planets ◽  
The Moon ◽  
System P ◽  
Asteroids And Comets

In this chapter, the author summarizes the properties of the Solar System, and how these were uncovered. Over centuries, the arrangement and properties of the Solar System were determined. The distinctions between the terrestrial planets, the gas and ice giants, and their various moons are discussed. Whereas humans have walked only on the Moon, probes have visited all the planets and several moons, asteroids, and comets; samples have been returned to Earth only from our moon, a comet, and from interplanetary dust. For Earth and Moon, seismographs probed their interior, whereas for other planets insights come from spacecraft and meteorites. We learned that elements separated between planet cores and mantels because larger bodies in the Solar System were once liquid, and many still are. How water ended up where it is presents a complex puzzle. Will the characteristics of our Solar System hold true for planetary systems in general?

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