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Encyclopedia of the Solar System

  • 3rd Edition - April 24, 2014
  • Latest edition
  • Editors: Tilman Spohn, Doris Breuer, Torrence Johnson
  • Language: English

The Encyclopedia of the Solar System, Third Edition—winner of the 2015 PROSE Award in Cosmology & Astronomy from the Association of American Publishers—provides a framework… Read more

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Description

The Encyclopedia of the Solar System, Third Edition—winner of the 2015 PROSE Award in Cosmology & Astronomy from the Association of American Publishers—provides a framework for understanding the origin and evolution of the solar system, historical discoveries, and details about planetary bodies and how they interact—with an astounding breadth of content and breathtaking visual impact. The encyclopedia includes the latest explorations and observations, hundreds of color digital images and illustrations, and over 1,000 pages. It stands alone as the definitive work in this field, and will serve as a modern messenger of scientific discovery and provide a look into the future of our solar system.

New additions to the third edition reflect the latest progress and growth in the field, including past and present space missions to the terrestrial planets, the outer solar systems and space telescopes used to detect extrasolar planets.

Key features

  • Winner of the 2015 PROSE Award in Cosmology & Astronomy from the Association of American Publishers
  • Presents 700 full-color digital images and diagrams from current space missions and observatories, bringing to life the content and aiding in the understanding and retention of key concepts.
  • Includes a substantial appendix containing data on planetary missions, fundamental data of relevance for planets and satellites, and a glossary, providing immediately accessible mission data for ease of use in conducting further research or for use in presentations and instruction.
  • Contains an extensive bibliography, providing a guide for deeper studies into broader aspects of the field and serving as an excellent entry point for graduate students aiming to broaden their study of planetary science.

Readership

Scientists, teachers, interested laypeople, and students of planetary science, astronomy, astrophysics, planetary geology, meteorology, and atmospheric and magnetospheric sciences.

Table of contents

Preface
Foreword

I: The Solar System

1. The Solar System and its Place in the Galaxy
Paul Weissmann

2. The Origin of the Solar System
Alex Halliday and John Chambers

3. Solar System Dynamics: Regular and Chaotic Motion
Jack Lissauer and Carl Murray

II: Fundamental Planetary Processes and Properties

4. Planetary Impacts
Richard Grieve, Gordon Osinski and Leonardo Tornabene

5. Planetary Volcanism
Lionel Wilson

6. Magnetic Field Generation
Sabine Stanley

7. Planetary Magnetospheres
Margaret Kivelson and Fran Bagenal

8. Solar System Dynamics: Rotation of the Planets
Veronique Dehant

9. Evolution of Planetary Interiors
Nicola Tosi

10. Astrobiology
Chris McKay and Wanda Davis

III: The Sun

11. The Sun
Markus Aschwanden

12. The Solar Wind
John T. Gosling

IV: Earthlike Planets

13. Mercury
Robert Strom, Scott Murchie, Ronald Vervack and Carolyn Ernst

14. Venus Atmosphere
Fred W. Taylor

15. Venus: Surface and Interior
Suzanne Smrekar and Ellen Stofan

16. Mars Atmosphere: History and Surface Interactions
David Catling

17. Mars: Surface and Interior
Michael Carr and Jim Bell

18. Mars Interior
Tim Van Hoolst

19. Mars: Landing Site Geology, Minerology, and Geochemistry
Matthew Golombeck and Harry McSween

V: Earth and Moon as Planets

20. Atmosphere and Oceans
Adam Showman and Timothy Dowling

21. Surface and Interior
David Pieri and Adam Dziewonski

22. Space Weather
Janet Luhman and Stanley C. Solomon

23. The Moon
Harald Hiesinger and Ralf Jaumann

24. Lunar Interior
Renee Weber

25. Lunar Exploration
Ian Crawford, Mahesh Anand and Katherine Joy

VI: Asteroids and Comets

26. Main-Belt Asteroids
Daniel Britt and Guy Consolmagno

27. Near-Earth Objects
Alan William Harris and Line Drube

28. Meteorites
Michael Lipschutz and Ludolf Schultz

29. Solar System Dust
Eberhard Grün and Harald Krüger

30. Physics and Chemistry of the Comets
John Brandt

31. Comet Populations and Cometary Dynamics
Harold Levision and Luke Dones

VII: Giant Planets and their Satellites

32. Atmospheres of the Giant Planets
Robert West

33. Interiors of the Giant Planets
Mark Marley and Jonathan Fortney

34. Planetary Satellites
Bonnie Buratti and Peter Thomas

35. Io: The Volcanic Moon
Rosaly M.C. Lopes

36. Europa
Louise Prockter and Robert T. Pappalardo

37. Ganymede and Callisto
Geoffrey Collins and Torrence Johnson

38. Titan
Athena Coustenis

39. Enceladus
Carolyn Porco and Francis Nimmo

40. Triton
William B. McKinnon and Randolph Kirk

41. Planetary Rings
Matthew S. Tiscareno and Matt Hedman

VIII: Beyond the Planets

42. Pluto


43. Kuiper Belt: Dynamics
Alessandro Morbidelli and Harold Levision

44. Kuiper Belt Objects: Physical Studies
Steven Tegler

45. Extra Solar Planets
Michael Endl

IX: Exploring the Solar System

46. Strategies of Modern Solar System Exploration
Berndt Feuerbacher and Bernhard Hufenbach

47. A History of Solar System Studies
Ulrich Koehler

48. X-Rays in the Solar System
Anil Bhardwaj and Carey Lisse

49. The Solar System at Ultraviolet Wavelenghts
Amanda Hendrix, Robert Nelson and Deborah Domingue

50. Infrared Views of the Solar System from Space
Mark Sykes

51. New Generation Ground-Based Optical/Infrared Telescopes
Alan Tokunaga and Robert Jedicke

52. The Solar System at Radio Wavelengths
Imke de Pater

53. Planetary Radar
Catherine Neish and Lynn Carter

54. Remote Chemical Sensing Using Nuclear Spectroscopy
Thomas H. Prettyman

55. Probing the Interiors of Planets with Geophysical Tools
William Bruce Banerdt, Suzanne Smrekar, Veronique Dehant, Philippe Lognonne and Matthias Grott

56. Planetary Exploration Missions
James Burke

57. Stereophotogrammetry
Jürgen Oberst, Klaus Gwinner and Frank Preusker
Mission Table
Tilman Spohn
Physical Constants
Tilman Spohn
Planetary Data
Tilman Spohn
List of Satellites
Tilman Spohn

Review quotes

"Huge efforts have been made to explain observations and theories clearly and succinctly and to bring the reader up to date. I recommend the book without reservation."—The Observatory

"This exciting summation of more than 50 years of continuing space exploration will appeal to scientists and enthusiasts alike. Summing Up: Highly recommended."—Choice

"Everything you want to know about the solar system is here. ...This is the perfect reference book, lavishly illustrated and well-written." —From the Foreword by Wesley T. Huntress, JR., Carnegie Institute of Washington

"The authors succeed brilliantly at combining the latest results from spacecraft missions and Earth-based observations with thoughtful interpretations of the processes."—Maria T. Zuber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Product details

  • Edition: 3
  • Latest edition
  • Published: May 30, 2014
  • Language: English

About the editors

TS

Tilman Spohn

Tilman Spohn is director of the Institute of Planetary Research of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin, Germany and Professor of Planetology at theWestfa¨lische Wilhelms-University Mu¨nster, Germany. He specializes in the Thermodynamics of Planetary Interiors and in physical problems of Astrobiology and has written 140 papers for scientific journals and books. He is a Principal Investigator (PI) for MUPUS on the Rosetta Lander Philae, for BELA on BepiColombo, and the instrument PI for HP3 on the InSight mission. Spohn has served as member and chairperson of ESA scientific working and advisory groups and is presently a member of ESA’s HISPAC. He is the chairman of the science committee of the international Space Science Institute and has served as editor for Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Reviews of Geophysics, and the Treatise on Geophysics. He is the recipient of the 2013 EGU Runcorn-Florensky Medal and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
Affiliations and expertise
director of the Institute of Planetary Research of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin, Germany and Professor of Planetology at theWestfa¨lische Wilhelms-University Mu¨nster, Germany.

DB

Doris Breuer

Doris Breuer is Head of the Department of Planetary Physics at the Institute of Planetary Research of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin, Germany and an Associate Professor at the Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris, France. She specializes in the interior dynamics, thermo-chemical evolution and interior structure of terrestrial bodies. She has published over 60 articles in refereed journals, has been coinvestigator on ESA’s BepiColombo mission and has served on several ESA science definition teams and on the ESA Solar System Working Group.
Affiliations and expertise
Head of the Department of Planetary Physics at the Institute of Planetary Research of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin, Germany and an Associate Professor at the Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris, France.

TJ

Torrence Johnson

Torrence V. Johnson is a specialist on icy satellites in the solar system. He has written over 130 publications for scientific journals. He received a Ph.D. in planetary science from the California Institute of Technology and is now the Chief Scientist for Solar System Exploration at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was the Project Scientist for the Galileo mission and is currently an investigator on the Cassini mission. He is the recipient of two NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medals and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal and has an honorary doctorate from the University of Padua, where Galileo made his first observations of the solar system.
Affiliations and expertise
Chief Scientist for Solar System Exploration at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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