Discovering the Solar System

by Jones, Barrie W.

• ISBN13: 9780470018309
• ISBN10: 0470018305
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-07-16
• Publisher: WILEY

Summary

Discovering the Solar System, Second Edition covers the Sun, the planets, their satellites and the host of smaller bodies that orbit the Sun. This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the subject for science students, and examines the discovery, investigation and modelling of these bodies. Following a thematic approach, chapters cover interiors, surfaces and the atmospheres of major bodies, including the Earth. The book starts with an overview of the Solar System and its origin, and then takes a look at small bodies, such as asteroids, comets and meteorites.Carefully balancing breadth of coverage with depth, Discovering the Solar System, Second Edition: Offers a comprehensive introduction, assuming little prior knowledge Includes full coverage of each planet, as well as the moon, Europa and Titan. The Second Edition includes new material on exoplanetary systems, and a general update throughout. Presents latest results from the Mars Rover and Cassini-Huygens missions Includes a colour plate section Contains 'stop and think' questions embedded in the text to aid understanding, along with questions at the end of major sections. Answers are provided at the end of the book. Provides summaries at the end of each chapter, and a glossary at the end of the bookPraise for the First Edition:"(...) essential reading for all undergraduate students (...) and for those at a more advanced level approaching the subject for the first time." THE SCIENCE BOOK BOARD BOOK REVIEW"One of the best books on the solar system I have seen. The general accuracy and quality of the content is excellent." JOURNAL OF THE BRITISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION

Author Biography

Professor Barrie W. Jones, Professor of Astronomy, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Has been awarded the David Wynn-Williams Prize for services to Astrobiology, by the Astrobiology Society of Britain in 2006.

Table of Contents

List of Tables

Preface and Study Guide to the First Edition

Preface to the Second Edition

The Sun and its Family

The Sun

The Solar Photosphere

The Solar Atmosphere

The Solar Interior

The Solar Neutrino Problem

The Sun's Family - A Brief Introduction

The Terrestrial Planets and the Asteroids

The Giant Planets

Pluto and Beyond

Chemical Elements in the Solar System

Orbits of Solar System Bodies

Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

Orbital Elements

Asteroids and the Titius-Bode Rule

A Theory of Orbits

Orbital Complications

Orbital Resonances

The Orbit of Mercury

Planetary Rotation

Precession of the Rotation Axis

The View from the Earth

The Other Planets

Solar and Lunar Eclipses

Summary of Chapter 1

The Origin of the Solar System

The Observational Basis

The Solar System

Exoplanetary Systems

Star Formation

Circumstellar Discs

Solar Nebular Theories

Angular Momentum in the Solar System

The Evaporation and Condensation of Dust in the Solar Nebula

From Dust to Planetesimals

From Planetesimals to Planets in the Inner Solar System

From Planetesimals to Planets in the Outer Solar System

The Origin of the Oort Cloud, the E-K Belt, and Pluto

Formation of the Satellites and Rings of the Giant Planets

Formation of the Satellites of the Giant Planets

Formation and Evolution of the Rings of the Giant Planets

Successes and Shortcomings of Solar Nebular Theories

Summary of Chapter 2

Small Bodies in the Solar System

Asteroids

Asteroid Orbits in the Asteroid Belt

Asteroid Orbits Outside the Asteroid Belt

Asteroid Sizes

Asteroid Shapes and Surface Features

Asteroid Masses, Densities, and Overall Composition

Asteroid Classes and Surface Composition

Comets and Their Sources

The Orbits of Comets

The Coma, Hydrogen Cloud, and Tails of a Comet

The Cometary Nucleus

The Death of Comets

The Sources of Comets

The Oort Cloud

The E-K Belt

Meteorites

Meteors, Meteorites, and Micrometeorites

The Structure and Composition of Meteorites

Dating Meteorites

The Sources of Meteorites

The Sources of Micrometeorites

Summary of Chapter 3

Interiors of Planets and Satellites: The Observational and Theoretical Basis

Gravitational Field Data

Mean Density

Radial Variations of Density: Gravitational Coefficients

Radial Variations of Density: The Polar Moment of Inertia

Love Numbers

Local Mass Distribution, and Isostasy

Magnetic Field Data

Seismic Wave Data

Seismic Waves

Planetary Seismic Wave Data

Composition and Properties of Accessible Materials

Surface Materials

Elements, Compounds, Affinities

Equations of State, and Phase Diagrams

Energy Sources, Energy Losses, and Interior Temperatures

Energy Sources

Energy Losses and Transfers

Observational Indicators of Interior Temperatures

Interior

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