ASTR 304, Jan-Apr 2013

Instructor

Professor Brett Gladman, Physics and Astronomy --> His web page

Final exam: Noon Saturday April 13

Office Hours (week April 9-12)

Henn 300B
Tuesday 16:00-17:00
Wednesday 10:00-11:00
Thursday 10:00-11:00
Friday 13:30-14:30

Henn 310. Mike Alexandersen
Thursday 13:00-14:00
Friday 10:30-11:30

A 13-week survey course in comparative planetary science.

ASTR 304 (Jan-April 2013 only)  Topics in Planetary Astronomy

Hennings 302, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:00-9:30

Pre-reqs: PHYS 200, Math 215 (or equivalent), PHYS 210 or EOSC 211.
Recommended pre-req: ASTR 101 or 201 or 202 or EOSC 212

Outline
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Unit: Planetary System Structure
 - Layout of system.  (terrestrial/gas giants/ice giants)
 - Small body belts
 - Exoplanetary orbital structure (planets and debris disks)
Unit: Dynamical structure
 - review Newton's version of Kepler's 3rd Law
 - dynamical masses
 - dynamical chaos in planetary systems
Unit: Planetary Moments of inertia
 - central condensation
 - measurement of interior structure
 - two layer models
 - Tidal effects: rotation states of planets and moons
Unit: Planet formation
 - nebular stage
 - accretions disks
 - planetesimal formation
 - planet building
Unit: Atmospheric structure
 - comparative atmopheres
 - Pressure/Temperature structure
 - Thermal balance, equilibrium temperature, habitable zones
 - Greenhouse effect
Unit: Meteoritics
 - Cosmochronology
 - meteorites as primitive samples
Unit: Impact cratering
 - Cratering physics
 - Cratered landscapes and chronology
 - Meteor physics and the impact hazard

Textbook:
Planetary Sciences, (MUST be 2nd edition) by I. de Pater and J. Lissauer

Useful references:
Solar System Evolution, 2nd edition, by S.R. Taylor
Meteorites and their Parent Planets, by H. McSween Jr
Geochemistry, by F. Albarede

HOMEWORK 5 problem:

LOLOAlargeCraters.txt file for download (usually right click and pick save).
Data from Head et al (2010) Science, vol 319, p. 1504.

Lunar North Pole (jpg)