A quantitative introduction to the Solar System and planetary systems science for advanced undergraduate students, this engaging new textbook explains the wide variety of physical, chemical and geological processes that govern the motions and properties of planets. The authors provide an overview of our current knowledge and discuss some of the unanswered questions at the forefront of research in planetary science and astrobiology today. They combine knowledge of the Solar System and the properties of extrasolar planets with astrophysical observations of ongoing star and planet formation, offering a comprehensive model for understanding the origin of planetary systems. The book concludes with an introduction to the fundamental properties of living organisms and the relationship that life has to its host planet. With more than 200 exercises to help students learn how to apply the concepts covered, this textbook is ideal for a one-semester or two-quarter course for undergraduate students.
'Drawing most of its material from the authors' excellent graduate text, Lissauer and de Pater's Fundamental Planetary Science is smartly reorganized to focus on the essentials. The authors take great care to make the text both comprehensive and accessible to undergraduates with interesting new chapters on physics and life, more detailed derivations, additional figures, and a concluding list of key concepts for every chapter. Sure to be welcomed by the Solar System community and destined to become a classic, the book is my new top choice for serious students of planetary science.' Douglas Hamilton, University of Maryland