PLANETARY SYSTEMS NOW

Planetary Systems Now offers a broad, interdisciplinary perspective and introduction to the latest results from leading experts in each field. It offers an unusually wide range of research on topics both inside and outside of the solar system, as well as the most recent results from ongoing ground- and space-based investigations. Experts in their field come together in this volume to discuss solar system exploration with its most recent space missions, theories and evidence concerning planetary system formation, and the nature and formation of exoplanets and exoplanetary systems.

Including both questions and answers, this book is intended to be a readable, heavily-illustrated stepping-off point for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scientists beginning research in planetary and exoplanetary science topics.

Contents:

• The Compositional Dimension of Planet Formation (Diego Turrini)
• The Mercurial Sun at the Heart of Our Solar System (Philip G Judge)
• Twenty-Five Years of Exoplanet Discoveries: The Exoplanet Hosts (Bárbara Rojas-Ayala)
• Exploration of the Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets (Ann C Vandaele)
• Atmospheres and Climates of Telluric Planets of the Solar System (and a Bit of Giant Planets and Exoplanets) (Aymeric Spiga)
• Habitability and Atmospheric Biosignatures in an Exoplanetary Context (John Lee Grenfell)
• The Nature of Gas Giant Planets (Ravit Helled, Naor Movshovitz and Nadine Nettelmann)
• The Ice Giants Uranus and Neptune: Current Data and Future Exploration (Ricardo Hueso)
• Cloud Formation in Exoplanetary Atmospheres (Christiane Helling)
• Planetary Astrophysics of Small Bodies (David Jewitt)
• Physical Properties of Solar System Minor Bodies: Remote Observations vs. Modeling (Daniela Lazzaro)
• Surface Composition of the Trans-Neptunian Objects: Where are the Ices in the Solar System? (Noemí Pinilla-Alonso, Mário de Prá and Ana Carolina Souza-Feliciano)
• Interstellar Planetesimals (Amaya Moro-Martán)
• Planetesimal/Debris Disks (Sebastian Marino)

Readership: Suitable for graduate level classes in planetary science. Also useful for senior scientists, postgraduate students & postdoctoral students.

Planetary System Now is a major endeavor to collect all aspects related to the research of planetary systems, paying particular attention to their formation and evolution. This idea originates from our need of combining the detailed information gained over decades about our Solar System, and the wealth of data about other planetary systems that have been gathered in the last 25 years. The book covers several aspects linked to the physics of planetary systems: starting from the study of stars (including our Sun), going to planets, small bodies, and finally the analysis on planetary architecture. Further, it discusses the major ingredients of the theory of planetary formation and evolution and even habitability and atmospheric biosignatures. A large part of the book is devoted to the planetary atmospheres of our Solar system, covering the different types of planets and outlining the basic principles. I particularly like the Q&A sessions. The book is a must for students approaching this field, as it will give them a broad view and perspective to one of our major challenges nowadays: to understand the enormous diversity of planetary systems. - Manuel Lopez PuertasInstituto de Astrofísica de AndalucíaGlorieta de la Astronomía, Spain

The past three decades have seen an explosion of information about our own Solar System and about exoplanetary systems. What is striking, however, is the limited number of books that provide stimulating, more general, overviews of this information and that give the interested student a well thought-out, immediately accessible text to bring to them to the forefront of the field. Lara and Jewitt have collated a cohesive set of well-explained chapters that beautifully fit in this gap incorporating material that is highly relevant for any student wishing to obtain a broad background in planetary science today. - Nicolas ThomasProf. of Experimental PhysicsUniversity of Bern, Switzerland

Key Features:

• Unique in its combination of style, breadth and up-to-date presentation of the material
• Address a significant omission in the literature by treating equally the solar system (where we have very detailed knowledge from close-up investigations) with exoplanetary systems (where the knowledge is less deep but broader, providing a context for solar system results)