Planetesimals
Subtitle
Early Differentiation and Consequences for Planets
Edited by Linda T. Elkins-Tanton and Benjamin P. Weiss
Processes governing the evolution of planetesimals are critical to understanding how rocky planets are formed, how water is delivered to them, the origin of planetary atmospheres, how cores and magnetic dynamos develop, and ultimately, which planets have the potential to be habitable. Theoretical advances and new data from asteroid and meteorite observations, coupled with spacecraft missions such as Rosetta and Dawn, have led to major advances in this field over the last decade.
This transdisciplinary volume presents an authoritative overview of the latest in our understanding of the processes of planet formation. Combining meteorite, asteroid and icy body observations with theory and modelling of accretion and orbital dynamics, this text also provides insights into the exoplanetary system and the search for habitable worlds. This is an essential reference for those interested in planetary formation, solar system dynamics, exoplanets and planetary habitability.
Bio
Linda T. Elkins-Tanton is the director of the ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration and the principal investigator of the NASA Discovery Mission, Psyche. She is also the author of a six-book series "The Solar System" and her articles have been published in Nature Geoscience, Nature, and Astrophysical Journal, among other publications.
Praise for this book
'… a host of academic cosmogonists, meteoriticists, Solar System dynamicists, and planetary physicists have collaborated to write 17 review papers. These are collected to form this impressive book, one that is beautifully produced, well-illustrated and an ideal introduction to the topic for a researcher qualified in maths and physics … I recommend this book unreservedly. I was left with a feeling of great gratitude to the researchers who have spent so much time in explaining so clearly the intricacies of these minor solar System bodies.'
David W. Hughs The Observatory
