This textbook is intended to be used in a lecture course for college students majoring in Earth Sciences. Planetary science provides an opportunity for these students to apply a wide range of subject matter pertaining to the Earth to the study of other planets and their principal satellites. In this way, planetary science tends to unify subjects in the Earth Sciences that are traditionally taught separately. Therefore, planetary science is well-suited to be taught as a capstone course for senior undergraduates in geology departments and as an introduction to the solar system in astronomy departments. Both groups of students will benefit because planetary science bridges the gap between geology and astronomy and it prepares geologists and astronomers to participate actively in the on-going exploration of the solar system.The subject matter is presented in 24 chapters that lead the reader through the solar system starting with historical perspectives on space exploration and the development of the scientific method. The presentations concerning the planets and their satellites emphasize that their origin and subsequent evolution can be explained by applications of certain basic principles of physics, chemistry, and celestial mechanics and that the surface features of the solid bodies in the solar system can be interpreted by means of the principles of geology.

This textbook emphasizes key basic principles of planetary science

Preface1. The urge to explore2. From speculation to understanding3. The planets of the solar system4. Life and death of stars5. Origin of the solar system6. The earth: model of planetary evolution7. The clockwork of the solar system8. Meteorites and impact craters9. The Earth-Moon system10. Mercury: too hot for comfort11. Venus: planetary evolution gone bad12. Mars: the little planet that could13. Asteroids: shattered worlds14. Jupiter: heavy-weight champion15. Galilean satellites: jewels of the solar system16. Saturn: the beauty of rings17. Titan: an ancient world in deep freeze18. Uranus: what happened here?19. Neptune: more surprises20. Pluto and Charon: the odd couple21. Ice worlds at the outer limit22. Comets: coming inside from the cold23. Earth: the cradle of humans24. Brown-dwarf stars and extrasolar planetsAppendix I. Mathematical equations used in astronomyAppendix II. Summaries of physical and orbital parametersGlossaryAuthor IndexSubject Index