This volume addresses a new opportunity in the planetary sciencesâ€"to extend our exploration outward to discover and study planetary systems that may have formed or are forming around other stars. It concludes that a coordinated program of astronomical observation, laboratory research, theoretical development, and understanding of the dynamics and origins of whatever may be found would be a technologically feasible and potentially richly rewarding extension of the study of bodies within the solar system.

Concludes that a coordinated program of astronomical observation, laboratory research, theoretical development, and understanding of the dynamics and origins of whatever may be found would be a technologically feasible and potentially richly rewarding extension of the study of bodies within the solar system.

Over the past ten years, the discovery of extrasolar planets has opened a new field of astronomy, and this area of research is rapidly growing, from both the observational and theoretical point of view. The presence of many giant exoplanets in the close vicinity of their star shows that these newly discovered planetary systems are very different from the solar system. New theoretical models are being developed in order to understand their formation scenarios, and new observational methods are being implemented to increase the sensitivity of exoplanet detections. In the present book, the authors address the question of planetary systems from all aspects. Starting from the facts (the detection of more than 300 extraterrestrial planets), they first describe the various methods used for these discoveries and propose a synthetic analysis of their global properties. They then consider the observations of young stars and circumstellar disks and address the case of the solar system as a specific example, different from the newly discovered systems. Then the study of planetary systems and of exoplanets is presented from a more theoretical point of view. The book ends with an outlook to future astronomical projects, and a description of the search for life on exoplanets. This book addresses students and researchers who wish to better understand this newly expanding field of research.

Since the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a main sequence star in 1995, nearly 500 planets have been detected, with this number expected to increase dramatically as new ground-based planetary searches begin to report their results. Emerging techniques offer the tantalizing possibility of detecting an Earth-mass planet in the habitable zon

`Are there other planetary systems like ours? Other planets like ours? Is there life elsewhere in the Universe?' So asks Dr. Lew Allen Jr. in the Foreword. In December of 1992, theorists, observers, and instrument builders gathered at the California Institute of Technology to discuss the search for answers to these questions. The International Conference, entitled `Planetary Systems: Formation, Evolution, and Detection' and supported through NASA's newly formed TOPS (Toward Other Planetary Systems) program, was the first of a series of conferences uniting researchers across disciplines and political boundaries to share thoughts and information on planetary systems. The conference was sponsored by NASA, hosted by JPL at Caltech, and endorsed by the 1992 International Space Year Association. These proceedings include discussions of topics ranging from stellar, disk, and planetary formation to new ways of searching for other stellar systems containing planets. The authors represent a wide range of nationalities, disciplines, and points of view. The second international conference took place in December of 1993.

The Space Studies Board (SSB) was established in 1958 to serve as the focus of the interests and responsibilities in space research for the National Academies. The SSB provides an independent, authoritative forum for information and advice on all aspects of space science and applications, and it serves as the focal point within the National Academies for activities on space research. It oversees advisory studies and program assessments, facilitates international research coordination, and promotes communications on space science and science policy between the research community, the federal government, and the interested public. The SSB also serves as the U.S. National Committee for the International Council for Science Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). This volume reviews the organization, activities, and reports of the SSB for the year 2010.