Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005aabb.book..305c&link_type=abstract
In: Advances in astronomy. Editor: J. M. T. Thompson. Royal Society Series on Advances in Science, Vol. 1. London: Imperial Coll
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Solar System
Scientific paper
Up until the dark ages, humankind knew of six planets including our own. The invention of the telescope, and the beginnings of scientific thought on orbits and planetary motion, were in the seventeenth century. The next three centuries added Uranus, Neptune and Pluto to the known list as well as the many moons, asteroids and comets that we know today. It is only in the latter part of the 20th century that we have been privileged to carry out in-situ exploration of the planets, comets and the solar wind's realm and to begin to understand the special conditions on Earth which meant that life started here. This is leading to a detailed view of the processes which have shaped our solar system. Here, we briefly review our current knowledge of the solar system we inhabit. We discuss the current picture of how the solar system began. Important processes at work, such as collisions and volcanism, and atmospheric evolution, are discussed. The planets, comets and asteorids are all discussed in general terms, together with the important discoveries from space missions which have led to our current views. For each of the bodies we present the current understanding of the physical properties and interrelationship and present questions for further study. The significance of recent results, such as proof that there were one standing bodies of water on Mars, and the discovery of what appears to be an Oort cloud comet, are put into context. What is in store for planetary exploration and discoveries in the future? Already a sequence of Mars exploration missions, a landing on a comet, further exploration of Saturn and the Jovian system and the first flyby of Pluto are planned. We examine the major scientific questions to be answered. We also discuss the prospects for finding other Earth-like planets elsewhere, and for finding extraterrestrial life both within and beyond our own solar system.
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