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Planetary Geology rewrite
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Planetary geology, alternatively known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of celestial bodies such as planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites.[1][2] Although the geo- prefix typically indicates topics of or relating to Earth, planetary geology is named as such for historical and convenience reasons; due to the subject matter, it is closely linked with more traditional Earth-based geology.[3]
Planetary geology includes such topics as determining the properties and processes of the internal structure of the terrestrial planets, surface processes such as volcanism, impact craters, even fluvial and aeolian action where applicable. Despite their outermost layers being dominated by gases, the giant planets are also included in the field of planetary geology, especially when it comes to their interiors. Fields within Planetary geology are largely derived from fields in the traditional geological sciences, such as geophysics, geomorphology, and geochemistry.
History
[edit]
 | The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (January 2014) |
Eugene Merle Shoemaker is credited with bringing geologic principles to planetary mapping and creating the branch of planetary science in the early 1960s, the Astrogeology Research Program, within the United States Geological Survey. He made important contributions to the field and the study of impact craters, selenography (study of the Moon), asteroids, and comets.[4]
Major centers for planetary science research include the Lunar and Planetary Institute, Applied Physics Laboratory, Planetary Science Institute, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute, and Johnson Space Center. Additionally, several universities conduct extensive planetary science research, including Montana State University, Brown University, the University of Arizona, California Institute of Technology, University of Colorado, Western Michigan University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Washington University in St. Louis. Planetary geologists usually study either geology, astronomy, planetary science, geophysics, or one of the earth sciences at the graduate level.[citation needed]
Solar system
[edit]WIP
Exploration
[edit]WIP
Exoplanets
[edit]WIP
Features and terms
[edit]Planetary geology uses a wide variety of standardized terms for features.[5] All planetary feature names recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) combine one of these terms with a possibly unique identifying name. The conventions which decide the more precise name are dependent on which planetary body the feature is on, but there are standard descriptors common to all astronomical planetary bodies. New terms must be recognized by the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, and are commonly added as features are mapped and described by new planetary missions.[6] This means that in some cases, names may change as improved imagery becomes available,[6] or in other cases widely adopted informal names are changed to align with precedent.[7] The standard names are chosen to avoid suggesting an underlying cause of the feature, rather describing its appearance alone.[5]
By planet
[edit]See also
[edit]- Astrobiology – Science concerned with life in the universe
- Exoplanet – Planet outside the Solar System
- Exoplanetology
- Planetary habitability – Known extent to which a planet is suitable for life
References
[edit]- ^ James F. III, Bell; Campbell, Bruce A.; Robinson, Mark S. "What is planetary geology?". Cornell University. Archived from the original on Oct 25, 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ "GEOL212: Planetary Geology". University of Maryland Department of Geology. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ McSween, Harry (11 July 2019). Planetary Geoscience (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 3–19. ISBN 978-1107145382.
- ^ Chapman, Mary G. "Gene Shoemaker - Founder of Astrogeology". United States Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Descriptor Terms (Feature Types)". Planetary Names. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- ^ a b Morton, Oliver. Mapping Mars: science, imagination, and the birth of a world. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2002.
- ^ "AAS Committee on the Status of Women" (PDF). American Astronomical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
Further reading
[edit]- J. F. Bell III; B. A. Campbell; M. S. Robinson (2004). Remote Sensing for the Earth Sciences: Manual of Remote Sensing (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Archived from the original on Sep 16, 2016. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
- Roberge, Aki (1998-04-21). "The Planets After Formation". Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Archived from the original on 2006-08-13. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
- Hauber E et al. (2019) Planetary geologic mapping. In: Hargitai H (ed ) Planetary Cartography and GIS. Springer.
- Hargitai H et al. (2015) Classification and Characterization of Planetary Landforms. In: Hargitai H, Kerszturi Á (eds) Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer.
- Rossi, Angelo Pio; Gasselt, Stephan van, eds. (2018). Planetary Geology. Astronomy and Planetary Sciences. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319-65177-4.