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Planetary science, also known as planetology and closely related to planetary astronomy, is the science of planets, or planetary systems, and the solar system. Incorporating an interdisciplinary approach, planetary science draws from diverse sciences and may be considered a part of the Earth sciences, or more logically, as its parent field. Research tends to be done by a combination of astronomy, space exploration (particularly unmanned space missions), and comparative, experimental and meteorite work based on Earth. There is also an important theoretical component and considerable use of computer simulation. Astrogeology is a major component of planetary sciences. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... The eight planets and three dwarf planets of the Solar System. ... An artists concept of a protoplanetary disc. ... Major features of the Solar System (not to scale, from left to right): Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, the asteroid belt, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth & Moon, and Mars. ... Interdisciplinarity is a type of academic collaboration in which specialists drawn from two or more academic disciplines work together in pursuit of common goals. ... Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant Astronomy is the science of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere (such as auroras and cosmic background radiation). ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space by both manned and unmanned spacecraft. ... It has been suggested that Space probe be merged into this article or section. ... Willamette Meteorite A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earths surface without being destroyed. ... The word theory has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. ... A computer simulation or a computer model is a computer program that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system. ... Astrogeologist and NASA astronaut Harrison Jack Schmitt collecting lunar samples during the Apollo 17 mission Astrogeology is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites. ...

Planetary science studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, their composition, dynamics and history. A Micrometeoroid (also micrometeorite, micrometeor) is a tiny meteoroid; a small particle of rock from space, usually weighing less than a gram, that poses a threat to space exploration. ... The solar systems four gas giants against the Suns limb, to scale A gas giant (sometimes also known as a Jovian planet after the planet Jupiter) is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. ...

Terminology

When the discipline concerns itself with a celestial body in particular, a specialised term is used, as shown in the table below (only heliology, geology, selenology, and areology are currently in common use):

Body	Planetary science	Source of root
Sun	heliology	Greek Helios
Mercury	hermeology	Greek Hermes
Venus	cytherology	Greek Cytherea
Earth	geology	Greek Gaia
( Moon	selenology	Greek Selene )
Mars	areology	Greek Ares
Ceres	demeterology	Greek Demeter
Jupiter	zenology	Greek Zeus
Saturn	kronology	Greek Chronos
Uranus	uranology	Greek/Latin Uranus
Neptune	poseidology	Greek Poseidon
Pluto	hadeology	Greek Hades
Eris	eridology	Greek Eris

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. ... Helios in his chariot In Greek mythology the sun was personified as Helios or Helius (Greek Ἥλιος / ἥλιος). Homer often calls him Titan and Hyperion. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Of all the terrestrial planets in the Solar System, the geology of Mercury is the least understood. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles, found at the Heraion, Olympia, 1877 Hermes (IPA: , Greek IPA: ), in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and... (*min temperature refers to cloud tops only) Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 9. ... A global view of Venus made from a mosaic of radar images from the Magellan spacecraft, centred at 90 degrees longitude. ... Cytherea can be: Another name for the goddess Aphrodite of Greek mythology, A synonym of the orchid genus Calypso. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Gaia (pronounced // or //) (land or earth, from the Greek ; variant spelling Gaea—see also Ge from ) is a Greek goddess personifying the Earth. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... For other moons in the solar system see natural satellite. ... Roman sculpture of the torch-bearing moon goddess Luna, or Diana Lucifera (Diana Bringer of Light), who was equated with the Greek Selene (Vatican Museums) In Greek mythology, Selene (Σελήνη, moon; Modern Greek pronunciation IPA: ) was an archaic lunar deity and the daughter of the titans Hyperion and Theia. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Areology (after Ares), or simply the geology of Mars, is the study of the composition, structure, physical properties, history and the processes that shape the planet Mars. ... In Greek mythology, Ares (in Greek: - Aris (Battle Strife))[1] is the son of Zeus (king of the gods) and Hera. ... Spectral type: G Absolute magnitude: 3. ... Ceres (Demeter), allegory of August: detail of a fresco by Cosimo Tura, Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara, 1469-70 Demeter was a god of the ancient greeks. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ... The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in Ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th century engraving Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Zeús, genitive: Díos), is... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 140 kPa Hydrogen >93% Helium >5% Methane 0. ... In Greek mythology, Chronos (Χρονος in Greek) in pre-Socratic philosophical works is said to be the personification of time. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 120 kPa Hydrogen 83% Helium 15% Methane 1. ... Uranus is the Latinized form of Ouranos (), the Greek word for sky. ... Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ... Neptune reigns in the city of Bristol. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ... Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed staff, on a red-figure Apulian vase made in the 4th century BC. For other uses, see Hades (disambiguation). ... Eris (IPA pronunciation ) or ), also designated (136199) Eris or 136199 Eris (See Minor planet names), is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. ... Eris (ca. ...

Basic Concepts

• Asteroid
• Brown dwarfs
• Celestial mechanics
• Comets
• Earthquake
• Equatorial bulge
• Extrasolar planets
• Gas giant planets
• Geophysics
• Icy moons
• Kuiper belt
• Magnetosphere
• Planet
• Planetary differentiation
• Planetary system
• the Pluto debate
• Precession
• Solar-terrestrial interaction
• Space weather
• Space weathering
• Star system
• Sun
• Synchronous rotation
• Super Jupiter
• Terrestrial planets

See also

• Astrogeology
• Planetary habitability
• Europlanet

Astrogeologist and NASA astronaut Harrison Jack Schmitt collecting lunar samples during the Apollo 17 mission Astrogeology is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites. ... Understanding planetary habitability is partly an extrapolation of the Earths conditions, as it is the only planet currently known to support life. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

External links

• E. Grayzeck, D. R. Williams (2006-05-11). Lunar and Planetary Science (English). NASA. Retrieved on 2006-08-21.
• NASA Mars Exploration Home
• NASA Cassini Mission to Saturn
• NASA DAWN Mission to the Asteroid Belt
• NASA MESSENGER Mission to Mercury
• European Space Agency
• Lunar and Planetary Lab at the University of Arizona
• Planetary Sciences at UCLA