Solar System Evolution: A New PerspectiveThis completely rewritten new edition begins with a historical perspective of the place of the solar system in the universe. Evidence from meteorites is used to describe how the planets were formed and the giant planets are considered in the light of the discovery of new extrasolar giants. Other chapters discuss satellites, comets, centaurs, asteroids and why Pluto is not a planet. Explanations on why Earth and Venus turned out so differently, and how Mars and Mercury are the survivors of many similar bodies, are also discussed. |
Contents
A brief history | 1 |
The universe | 17 |
Stars | 29 |
The solar nebula | 47 |
Composition and chemical evolution of the solar | 73 |
The evidence from meteorites | 105 |
Building planets | 163 |
The giant planets | 197 |
The refugees | 263 |
Mercury and Mars | 301 |
Venus and the Earth | 331 |
The Moon | 369 |
The role of impacts | 401 |
on the difficulty of making Earthlike | 431 |
445 | |
452 | |
Common terms and phrases
abundances accretion Acta appear Arizona Univ asteroid belt Astron Astrophys atmosphere basins brown dwarfs CAIS Cambridge Univ Charon chondrites chondrules collisions comets composition condensation core Cosmochim craters density depleted disk dust Early Solar System Earth masses Earth Planet eccentricity eucrites evidence evolution extrasolar planets formation formed fractionation g/cm³ galaxies Geochim Geophys giant planets hypothesis Icarus impact impact craters inner nebula inner planets interstellar isotopic Jour lunar M. S. Matthews mantle Mars martian material matrix melting Mercury metal meteorites minerals molecular clouds Moon Neptune observed occur olivine Oort Cloud orbit origin outer oxygen isotope planetary systems planetesimals Pluto present Press primitive probably problem protoplanet ratios refractory region rings rock rotation satellites Science siderophile silicate solar nebula solar system Solar System eds stars stellar surface temperatures terrestrial planets timescales tion Triton Tucson Uranus Uranus and Neptune Venus volatile elements water ice