Planetary science

Key people

• Michael E. BrownAmerican planetary astronomer
• Carolyn PorcoAmerican planetary scientist
• Claudia AlexanderAmerican geophysicist and planetary scientist (1959-2015)
• Alan SternAmerican planetary scientist

Timeline

• 1970Held annually since 1970, occurs in March.
• 2013As of July 24, 2013, 65 samples of Martian meteorites have been discovered on Earth.

Read

• Report Series : Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary ScienceNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine · 2017Book
• Annual Review of Earth and Planetary SciencesGeorge W. Wetherill · 1981Book
• Moons and planetsWilliam K. Hartmann · 1972Book
• Planetary ScienceMichael M. Woolfson · 2002Book

Watch

• Physics, Astronomy and Planetary Science undergraduate degreesSchool of Physical Sciences The Open UniversityVideo
• Planetary Sciences Minor at the Meet Your Major FairTheA CenterVideo
• Planetary Scientist ※ What is a career in planetary science like? ※ Geology Career Lockheed MartinEarth Science ResourcesVideo

Listen

• Astrum SpaceAstrumPodcast
• NASA's Curious UniverseNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)Podcast
• Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and ScienceThe Planetary SocietyPodcast
• Bedtime AstronomySynthetic UniversePodcast

Voices to follow

• Emma Bunce@drbuncen · XBritish physicist
• Michael E. Brown@plutokiller · XAmerican planetary astronomer
• Meg Schwamb@megschwamb · XAmerican planetary scientist
• Sarah Hörst@PlanetDr · XAmerican planetary scientist

Debates

• Is there life beyond Earth?One view: The vastness of the universe and discovery of water on other bodies suggest life is probable elsewhere. · Another: We have no definitive evidence of extraterrestrial life, indicating it might be rare or unique to Earth.Open question
• How did Earth's Moon form?One view: The Giant-Impact Hypothesis suggests a Mars-sized object collided with early Earth, ejecting material that formed the Moon. · Another: Alternative theories propose co-formation with Earth or capture of a rogue celestial body.Open question
• What makes a planet habitable?One view: The presence of liquid water, a stable atmosphere, and a protective magnetic field are crucial for supporting life. · Another: Habitability might be more flexible, with life adapting to extreme conditions or different chemical compositions.Open question

Glossary

• ExoplanetA planet that orbits a star outside our solar system.
• AstrobiologyThe study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.
• DifferentiationThe process by which a planetary body separates into layers of different compositions and densities.
• Protoplanetary DiskA rotating disk of gas and dust surrounding a young star, from which planets form.
• Habitable ZoneThe region around a star where conditions are suitable for liquid water to exist on a planet's surface.
• Geologic ActivityProcesses that shape a planet's surface, such as volcanism, tectonics, and erosion.

Careers

Roles this can lead toward

Student research

Published policy papers by One Young India delegates — every delegate leaves published under their own name.

• The Philadelphia Experiment: Deconstruction of a Military Myth and PseudoscienceDwij Verma

Threads 4

Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.

• Sleep Health

  Almost every cell in your body runs a tiny clock set to roughly 24 hours, tuned to Earth spinning once a day. Fly across the planet or work the night shift and you're forcing your biology to fight the rotation of the world. Jet lag is literally your cells arguing with the spin of the Earth.

• The Meaning of Life Philosophy

  Geologists discovered the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and all of human history is a paper-thin smudge at the very top of that stack. Realizing how tiny our slice of time is rattled people as much as learning Earth isn't the center of the universe. 'Deep time' quietly resized what a single human life could even mean.

• Creation Myths and Origin Stories Religion

  Cultures all over the world tell of a great flood, and some may be blurry memories of real catastrophes, like ice-age meltwater lakes bursting their dams and drowning whole regions. The story got passed down for thousands of years, long after anyone remembered the actual event. A sacred myth can be geology, compressed and retold around the fire.

• Revolutions & Upheaval History

  A volcano in Iceland helped bring down a king in France. When Laki erupted in 1783, it poisoned the skies and wrecked harvests across Europe, deepening the hunger that helped ignite the French Revolution years later. Sometimes the trigger of a political explosion is buried deep in the Earth.