Co-published by Cambridge University Press and The Open University

2004 | 263 x 210 mm | 400pp | 66 half-tones | 261 colour figures | 38 tables | 96 exercises

Hardback | Paperback

Designed for elementary university courses in planetary science, this book starts with a tour of the Solar System and an overview of its formation. The terrestrial planets, giant planets and minor bodies are reviewed in detail. Over 90 exercises with full solutions are included in the book.

Key Features

• bulleted questions and answers throughout summarise and aid learning
• additional pedagogical features include boxed summaries, brief biographies of pioneers in the field and a glossary of terms
• this website hosts additional teaching materials including illustrations, further exercises and links to other Internet resources to support the material in the book

Advance Praise

"An Introduction to the Solar System is clearly written, accurate, up-to-date, well-produced and a pleasure to read. It is a first rate production by a team of professionals, clearly designed for teaching and up to the high standards of The Open University. The many questions that are posed throughout the text (with answers at the back) make it an ideal teaching text. As a beginning text at an undergraduate or advanced high school level, it is hard to fault this book and I suspect that it will be widely used in introductory courses."

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Contents

• Introduction

1. A tour of the Solar System;
2. The internal structure of the terrestrial planets;
3. Planetary volcanism - ultima Thule?;
4. Planetary surface processes;
5. Atmospheres of terrestrial planets;
6. The giant planets;
7. Minor bodies of the Solar System;
8. The origin of the Solar System;
9. Meteorites: a record of formation;

• Answers and comments;
• Appendix A. Useful planetary data;
• Appendix B. Selected physical constants and unit conversions;
• Appendix C. The elements;
• Glossary;
• Acknowledgements;
• Index