Planetary science (rarely planetology) is the scientific study of planets (inclu

ding Earth), moons, and planetary systems, in particular those of the Solar Syst
em and the processes that form them. It studies objects ranging in size from mic
rometeoroids to gas giants, aiming to determine their composition, dynamics, for
mation, interrelations and history. It is a strongly interdisciplinary field, or
iginally growing from astronomy and earth science,[1] but which now incorporates
many disciplines, including planetary astronomy, planetary geology (together wi
th geochemistry and geophysics), atmospheric science, oceanography, hydrology, t
heoretical planetary science, glaciology, and exoplanetology.[1] Allied discipli
nes include space physics, when concerned with the effects of the Sun on the bod
ies of the Solar System, and astrobiology.
There are interrelated observational and theoretical branches of planetary scien
ce. Observational research can involve a combination of space exploration, predo
minantly with robotic spacecraft missions using remote sensing, and comparative,
experimental work in Earth-based laboratories. The theoretical component involv
es considerable computer simulation and mathematical modelling.
Planetary scientists are generally located in the astronomy and physics or earth
sciences departments of universities or research centres, though there are seve
ral purely planetary science institutes worldwide. There are several major confe
rences each year, and a wide range of peer-reviewed journals.
Contents
1 History
2 Disciplines
2.1 Planetary astronomy
2.2 Planetary geology
2.2.1 Geomorphology
2.2.2 Cosmochemistry, geochemistry and petrology
2.2.3 Geophysics
2.3 Atmospheric science
3 Comparative planetary science
4 Professional activity
4.1 Journals
4.2 Professional bodies
4.3 Major conferences
4.4 Major institutions
4.5 National space agencies
4.6 Other institutions
5 Basic concepts
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
History
The history of planetary science may be said to have begun with the Ancient Gree
k philosopher Democritus, who is reported by Hippolytus as saying
The ordered worlds are boundless and differ in size, and that in some there
is neither sun nor moon, but that in others, both are greater than with us, and
yet with others more in number. And that the intervals between the ordered world
s are unequal, here more and there less, and that some increase, others flourish
and others decay, and here they come into being and there they are eclipsed. Bu
t that they are destroyed by colliding with one another. And that some ordered w
orlds are bare of animals and plants and all water.[2]
In more modern times, planetary science began in astronomy, from studies of the
unresolved planets. In this sense, the original planetary astronomer would be Ga
lileo, who discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, the mountains on the Mo
on, and first observed the rings of Saturn, all objects of intense later study.
Galileo's study of the lunar mountains in 1609 also began the study of extraterr
estrial landscapes: his observation "that the Moon certainly does not possess a
smooth and polished surface" suggested that it and other worlds might appear "ju
st like the face of the Earth itself".[3]
Advances in telescope construction and instrumental resolution gradually allowed
increased identification of the atmospheric and surface details of the planets.
The Moon was initially the most heavily studied, as it always exhibited details
on its surface, due to its proximity to the Earth, and the technological improv
ements gradually produced more detailed lunar geological knowledge. In this scie
ntific process, the main instruments were astronomical optical telescopes (and l
ater radio telescopes) and finally robotic exploratory spacecraft.
The Solar System has now been relatively well-studied, and a good overall unders
tanding of the formation and evolution of this planetary system exists. However,
there are large numbers of unsolved questions,[4] and the rate of new discoveri
es is very high, partly due to the large number of interplanetary spacecraft cur
rently exploring the Solar System.
Disciplines
Planetary astronomy
This is both an observational and a theoretical science. Observational researche
rs are predominantly concerned with the study of the small bodies of the solar s
ystem: those that are observed by telescopes, both optical and radio, so that ch
aracteristics of these bodies such as shape, spin, surface materials and weather
ing are determined, and the history of their formation and evolution can be unde
rstood.
Theoretical planetary astronomy is concerned with dynamics: the application of t
he principles of celestial mechanics to the Solar System and extrasolar planetar
y systems.
Planetary geology
Main article: Planetary geology
See also: Geology of solar terrestrial planets
See also: Icy moon
The best known research topics of planetary geology deal with the planetary bodi
es in the near vicinity of the Earth: the Moon, and the two neighbouring planets
: Venus and Mars. Of these, the Moon was studied first, using methods developed
earlier on the Earth.
Geomorphology
Main article: Geomorphology
Geomorphology studies the features on planetary surfaces and reconstructs the hi
story of their formation, inferring the physical processes that acted on the sur
face. Planetary geomorphology includes study of several classes of surface featu
re:
Impact features (multi-ringed basins, craters)
Volcanic and tectonic features (lava flows, fissures, rilles)
Space weathering - erosional effects generated by the harsh environment of s
pace (continuous micrometeorite bombardment, high-energy particle rain, impact g
ardening). For example, the thin dust cover on the surface of the lunar regolith
is a result of micrometeorite bombardment.
Hydrological features: the liquid involved can range from water to hydrocarb
on and ammonia, depending on the location within the Solar System.
The history of a planetary surface can be deciphered by mapping features from to
p to bottom according to their deposition sequence, as first determined on terre
strial strata by Nicolas Steno. For example, stratigraphic mapping prepared the
Apollo astronauts for the field geology they would encounter on their lunar miss
ions. Overlapping sequences were identified on images taken by the Lunar Orbiter
program, and these were used to prepare a lunar stratigraphic column and geolog
ical map of the Moon.
Further information: Geology of the Moon
Cosmochemistry, geochemistry and petrology
Main articles: Cosmochemistry, Geochemistry and Petrology
One of the main problems when generating hypotheses on the formation and evoluti
on of objects in the Solar System is the lack of samples that can be analysed in
the laboratory, where a large suite of tools are available and the full body of
knowledge derived from terrestrial geology can be brought to bear. Fortunately,
direct samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars are present on Earth, removed
from their parent bodies and delivered as meteorites. Some of these have suffere
d contamination from the oxidising effect of Earth's atmosphere and the infiltra
tion of the biosphere, but those meteorites collected in the last few decades fr
om Antarctica are almost entirely pristine.
The different types of meteorite that originate from the asteroid belt cover alm
ost all parts of the structure of differentiated bodies: meteorites even exist t
hat come from the core-mantle boundary (pallasites). The combination of geochemi
stry and observational astronomy has also made it possible to trace the HED mete
orites back to a specific asteroid in the main belt, 4 Vesta.
The comparatively few known Martian meteorites have provided insight into the ge
ochemical composition of the Martian crust, although the unavoidable lack of inf
ormation about their points of origin on the diverse Martian surface has meant t
hat they do not provide more detailed constraints on theories of the evolution o
f the Martian lithosphere.[5] As of July 24, 2013 65 samples of Martian meteorit
es have been discovered on Earth. Many were found in either Antarctica or the Sa
hara Desert.
During the Apollo era, in the Apollo program, 384 kilograms of lunar samples wer
e collected and transported to the Earth, and 3 Soviet Luna robots also delivere
d regolith samples from the Moon. These samples provide the most comprehensive r
ecord of the composition of any Solar System body beside the Earth. The numbers
of lunar meteorites are growing quickly in the last few years [6] as of April 200
8 there are 54 meteorites that have been officially classified as lunar. Eleven
of these are from the US Antarctic meteorite collection, 6 are from the Japanese
Antarctic meteorite collection, and the other 37 are from hot desert localities
in Africa, Australia, and the Middle East. The total mass of recognized lunar m
eteorites is close to 50 kg.
Geophysics
Main articles: Geophysics and Space physics
Space probes made it possible to collect data in not only the visible light regi
on, but in other areas of the electromagnetic spectrum. The planets can be chara
cterized by their force fields: gravity and their magnetic fields, which are stu
died through geophysics and space physics.
Measuring the changes in acceleration experienced by spacecraft as they orbit ha
s allowed fine details of the gravity fields of the planets to be mapped. For ex
ample, in the 1970s, the gravity field disturbances above lunar maria were measu
red through lunar orbiters, which led to the discovery of concentrations of mass
, mascons, beneath the Imbrium, Serenitatis, Crisium, Nectaris and Humorum basin
s.
The solar wind is deflected by the magnetosphere (not to scale)
If a planet's magnetic field is sufficiently strong, its interaction with the so
lar wind forms a magnetosphere around a planet. Early space probes discovered th
e gross dimensions of the terrestrial magnetic field, which extends about 10 Ear
th radii towards the Sun. The solar wind, a stream of charged particles, streams
out and around the terrestrial magnetic field, and continues behind the magneti
c tail, hundreds of Earth radii downstream. Inside the magnetosphere, there are
relatively dense regions of solar wind particles, the Van Allen radiation belts.
Geophysics includes seismology and tectonophysics, geophysical fluid dynamics, m
ineral physics, geodynamics, mathematical geophysics, and geophysical surveying.
Geodesy, also called geodetics, deals with the measurement and representation of
the planets of the Solar System, their gravitational fields and geodynamic phen
omena (polar motion in three-dimensional, time-varying space. The science of geo
desy has elements of both astrophysics and planetary sciences. The shape of the
Earth is to a large extent the result of its rotation, which causes its equatori
al bulge, and the competition of geologic processes such as the collision of pla
tes and of vulcanism, resisted by the Earth's gravity field. These principles ca
n be applied to the solid surface of Earth (orogeny; Few mountains are higher th
an 10 km (6 mi), few deep sea trenches deeper than that because quite simply, a
mountain as tall as, for example, 15 km (9 mi), would develop so much pressure a
t its base, due to gravity, that the rock there would become plastic, and the mo
untain would slump back to a height of roughly 10 km (6 mi) in a geologically in
significant time. Some or all of these geologic principles can be applied to oth
er planets besides Earth. For instance on Mars, whose surface gravity is much le
ss, the largest volcano, Olympus Mons, is 27 km (17 mi) high at its peak, a heig
ht that could not be maintained on Earth. The Earth geoid is essentially the fig
ure of the Earth abstracted from its topographic features. Therefore the Mars ge
oid is essentially the figure of Mars abstracted from its topographic features.
Surveying and mapping are two important fields of application of geodesy.
Atmospheric science
Main articles: Atmospheric science and Global climate model
Cloud bands clearly visible on Jupiter.
The atmosphere is an important transitional zone between the solid planetary sur
face and the higher rarefied ionizing and radiation belts. Not all planets have
atmospheres: their existence depends on the mass of the planet, and the planet's
distance from the Sun too distant and frozen atmospheres occur. Besides the fou
r gas giant planets, almost all of the terrestrial planets (Earth, Venus, and Ma
rs) have significant atmospheres. Two moons have significant atmospheres: Saturn
's moon Titan and Neptune's moon Triton. A tenuous atmosphere exists around Merc
ury.
The effects of the rotation rate of a planet about its axis can be seen in atmos
pheric streams and currents. Seen from space, these features show as bands and e
ddies in the cloud system, and are particularly visible on Jupiter and Saturn.
Comparative planetary science
Planetary science frequently makes use of the method of comparison to give great
er understanding of the object of study. This can involve comparing the dense at
mospheres of Earth and Saturn's moon Titan, the evolution of outer Solar System
objects at different distances from the Sun, or the geomorphology of the surface
s of the terrestrial planets, to give only a few examples.
The main comparison that can be made is to features on the Earth, as it is much
more accessible and allows a much greater range of measurements to be made. Eart
h analogue studies are particularly common in planetary geology, geomorphology,
and also in atmospheric science.
Professional activity
Journals
Icarus
Journal of Geophysical ResearchPlanets
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Meteoritics and Planetary Science
Planetary and Space Science
Professional bodies
Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society
American Geophysical Union
Meteoritical Society
Europlanet
Major conferences
Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), organized by the Lunar and Pl
anetary Institute in Houston. Held annually since 1970, occurs in March.
Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) meeting held annually since 1970 at a
different location each year, predominantly within the mainland US. Occurs aroun
d October.
American Geophysical Union (AGU) annual Fall meeting in December in San Fran
cisco.
American Geophysical Union (AGU) Joint Assembly (co-sponsored with other soc
ieties) in AprilMay, in various locations around the world.
Meteoritical Society annual meeting, held during the Northern Hemisphere sum
mer, generally alternating between North America and Europe.
European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC), held annually around September a
t a location within Europe.
Smaller workshops and conferences on particular fields occur worldwide throughou
t the year.
Major institutions
This non-exhaustive list includes those institutions and universities with major
groups of people working in planetary science. Alphabetical order is used.
National space agencies
Ames (NASA)
Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Annual budget CAD $488.7 million (20132014).
China National Space Administration (CNSA) (Communist China). Budget $0.5-1.
3 Billion (est.).
Centre national d'tudes spatiales French National Centre of Space Research,Bu
dget 1.920 Billion (2012).
Deutsches Zentrum fr Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., (German: abbreviated DLR), the
German Aerospace Center.Budget $2 Billion (2010).
European Space Agency (ESA). Budget $5.51 Billion (2013).
Russian Federal Space Agency Budget $5.61 Billion (2013).
GSFC (NASA),
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),
Israel Space Agency (ISA),
Italian Space Agency Budget ~$1 Billion (2010).
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Budget $2.15 Billion (2012).
JPL (NASA),
NASA: Considerable number of research groups, including the JPL, GSFC, Ames.
Budget $18.724 Billion (2011).
National Space Organization (Republic of China in Taiwan).
UK Space Agency (UKSA).
Other institutions
The Australian National University's Planetary Science Institute
Brown University Planetary Geosciences Group
Caltech's Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
Cornell University's Space and Planetary Science
Florida Institute of Technology's Department of Physics and Space Sciences
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [1]
Lunar and Planetary Institute
MIT Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Open University Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute
Planetary Science Institute
UCLA Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences
University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Lab
University of California Santa Cruz's Department of Earth & Planetary Scienc
es
University of Hawaii's Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
University of Copenhagen's Center for Planetary Research
University of Central Florida Planetary Sciences Group
University of British Columbia Institute for Planetary Science
University of Western Ontario's Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration
University of Tennessee Planetary Geoscience
University of Colorado's Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali