PC234: Planetary and Space Science

This is an introductory course in planetary and space science. We will study the basic physics, structure, morphology and evolution of each planet separately, including comets, asteroids, and meteorites, Kuiper belt and Oort cloud. We will address the most recent theories of the Solar System formation and evolution hypotheses as a whole, and we will touch briefly upon all the known theories from the tidal theory to the most recent re-emergence of the nebular hypothesis. We will also examine the corresponding outstanding issues, as well as the solar evolution hypothesis. Finally, we will discuss in a fair amount of detail the most important up to date deep space missions, their findings, and their importance in the understanding of our neighborhood as a whole.

3 lecture hours
Credit: 0.50
Prerequisite: AS101
Exclusion: PC310B