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Photograph from Apollo 15 command module Endeavour of the rilles in the vicinity of the crater Aristarchus on the Moon.
Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of their formation. It studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, aiming to determine their composition, dynamics, formation, interrelations and history. It is a strongly interdisciplinary field, which originally grew from astronomy and Earth science,[1] and now incorporates many disciplines, including planetary geology, cosmochemistry, atmospheric science, physics, oceanography, hydrology, theoretical planetary science, glaciology, and exoplanetology.[1] Allied disciplines include space physics, when concerned with the effects of the Sun on the bodies of the Solar System, and astrobiology.
There are interrelated observational and theoretical branches of planetary science. Observational research can involve combinations of space exploration, predominantly with robotic spacecraft missions using remote sensing, and comparative, experimental work in Earth-based laboratories. The theoretical component involves considerable computer simulation and mathematical modelling.
Planetary scientists are generally located in the astronomy and physics or Earth sciences departments of universities or research centres, though there are several purely planetary science institutes worldwide. Generally, planetary scientists study one of the Earth sciences, astronomy, astrophysics, geophysics, or physics at the graduate level and concentrate their research in planetary science disciplines. There are several major conferences each year, and a wide range of peer reviewed journals. Some planetary scientists work at private research centres and often initiate partnership research tasks.
^ abTaylor, Stuart Ross (29 July 2004). "Why can't planets be like stars?". Nature. 430 (6999): 509. Bibcode:2004Natur.430..509T. doi:10.1038/430509a. PMID 15282586. S2CID 12316875.
Planetaryscience (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets)...
A planetary core consists of the innermost layers of a planet. Cores may be entirely solid or entirely liquid, or a mixture of solid and liquid layers...
Earth and PlanetaryScience Letters (EPSL) is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on physical, chemical and mechanical processes...
Planetary and Space Science (P&SS), published 15 times per year, is a peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1959. It publishes original research...
interrelation, and past. Planetaryscience is an interdisciplinary domain, having originated from astronomy and Earth science, and currently encompassing...
Comparative planetaryscience or comparative planetology is a branch of space science and planetaryscience in which different natural processes and systems...
The PlanetaryScience Decadal Survey is a serial publication of the United States National Research Council produced for NASA and other United States...
"Overview of the Regional Planetary Image Facility (RPIF) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory" (PDF). 47th Lunar and PlanetaryScience Conference. 2016. Archived...
Planetary romance (other synonyms are sword and planet, and (inter)planetary adventure) is a subgenre of science fiction in which the bulk of the action...
celestial bodies in the field of planetaryscience. Geography has been called "a bridge between natural science and social science disciplines." Origins of many...
Directorate (SMD): the astrophysics, Earth science, heliophysics and planetaryscience divisions. "Large" refers to the budget of each mission, typically...
The PlanetaryScience Institute (PSI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research institute based in Tucson, Arizona, focusing on planetaryscience. As of 2018[update]...
atmosphere, and geosphere (or lithosphere). Earth science can be considered to be a branch of planetaryscience but with a much older history. There are reductionist...
The PlanetaryScience Archive is the central repository for all scientific and engineering data returned by the European Space Agency's Solar System missions:...
political space advocacy for engineering projects related to astronomy, planetaryscience, and space exploration. It was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce...
framework. PlanetaryScience – study of planets, moons, and planetary systems. Atmospheric science – study of atmospheres and weather. Planetary geology...
in this regard is a component of a number of natural sciences, such as astronomy, planetaryscience and the emerging discipline of astrobiology. An absolute...
The planetary equilibrium temperature is a theoretical temperature that a planet would be if it was in radiative equilibrium, typically under the assumption...
and PlanetarySciences is an annual peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Annual Reviews, which broadly covers Earth and planetarysciences, including...
Planetary geology, alternatively known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a planetaryscience discipline concerned with the geology of celestial bodies...
Earthquake sciences, and is arguably a special case in planetaryscience, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. Earth science is a branch...
"Mineralogical records of early planetary processes on the HED parent body with reference to Vesta". Meteoritics & PlanetaryScience. 32 (6): 841–853. Bibcode:1997M&PS...
topography, geomorphology, atmospheric sciences, and astronomy. Land (or ground) is the term given to non-liquid planetary surfaces. The term landing is used...
In astronomy and planetaryscience, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by...
In planetaryscience, planetary differentiation is the process by which the chemical elements of a planetary body accumulate in different areas of that...
Earth sciences, including hydrology and the atmospheric sciences, and so is treated as one major aspect of integrated Earth system science and planetary science...
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