Are you up to date on the solar system? When the International Astronomical Union redefined the term ""planet,"" Pluto was downgraded to a lower status. New Views of the Solar System 2013 looks at scientists' changing perspectives, with articles on Pluto, the eight chief planets, and dwarf planets, new missions, updates for ongoing missions, newly-discovered moons, and updated tables. Brilliant photos and drawings showcase the planets, asteroids, comets, and more, providing a stunning collection of vivid images.

"To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first successful planetary mission, Mariner 2 sent to Venus in 1962, the NASA History Program Office, the Division of Space History at the National Air and Space Museum, NASA's Science Mission Directorate, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory organized a symposium. "Solar System Exploration @ 50" was held in Washington, D.C., on 25-26 October 2012. The purpose of this symposium was to consider, over the more than 50-year history of the Space Age, what we have learned about the other bodies of the solar system and the processes by which we have learned it. Symposium organizers asked authors to address broad topics relating to the history of solar system exploration such as various flight projects, the development of space science disciplines, the relationship between robotic exploration and human spaceflight, the development of instruments and methodologies for scientific exploration, as well as the development of theories about planetary science, solar system origins and implications for other worlds. The papers in this volume provide a richly textured picture of important developments - and some colorful characters - in a half century of solar system exploration. A comprehensive history of the first 50 years of solar system exploration would fill many volumes. What readers will find in this volume is a collection of interesting stories about money, politics, human resources, commitment, competition and cooperation, and the "faster, better, cheaper" era of solar system exploration"--

This book describes the origin and evolution of the solar system, with an emphasis on interpretation rather than description. Starting with the Big Bang 15-20 billion years ago, it traces the evolution of the solar system from the separation of a disk of gas and dust, the solar nebula, 4.7 billion years ago. The problems of the formation of the Sun and the planets are considered beginning with Jupiter and the other gas giants, and ending with the formation of the Earth, the other rocky inner planets and the Moon. All planets, satellites and rings are different and random encounters have played a major role in the evolution of the system: the Moon is the product of a chance collision. The author concludes that the solar system is probably unique; other planetary systems may be common, but will probably not resemble ours either in numbers or types of planets.

Taking readers on a breathtaking visual and scientific adventure, renowned physicist Brian Cox reveals the Solar System as you have never seen it before: from Saturn's moons, where giant ice fountains spout into space and oceans are made of liquid methane, to Jupiter, where storms rage that are twice the size of Earth and giant super-volcanoes dominate its tortured moon of Io. Professor Cox takes you on a journey of discovery where alien worlds become places you can see and explore. He introduces you to the planets and moons beyond our world, finding the biggest and most bizarre and powerful natural phenomena. He visits some of the most spectacular and extreme locations here on Earth to unveil what our planet can reveal about the wonders of the Solar System. Employing his trademark authoritative yet down-to-earth approach, Brian explores how these previously unseen phenomena have dramatically expanded our horizons with new discoveries about the planets, their moons, and how they came to be the way they are. Includes 500 diagrams and full-color photographs

Volume 60 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry assesses the current state of knowledge of lunar geoscience, given the data sets provided by missions of the 1990's, and lists remaining key questions as well as new ones for future exploration to address. It documents how a planet or moon other than the world on which we live can be studied and understood in light of integrated suites of specific kinds of information. The Moon is the only body other than Earth for which we have material samples of known geologic context for study. This volume seeks to show how the different kinds of information gained about the Moon relate to each other and also to learn from this experience, thus allowing more efficient planning for the exploration of other worlds.

Profiles each of the planets in Earth's solar system, including Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea, MakeMake, the sun, the Oort cloud, comets, and more.

Breathtaking illustrations bring views of different worlds of our Solar System to life in this engaging and accessible book created in conjunction with ALMA, the largest astronomical project in the world. We live in an amazing planetary system. From the yawning Valles Marineris on Mars and the subsurface ocean hiding beneath the ice crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa, to the eerily Earth-like terrain of Saturn’s moon Titan, the solar system brims with wonders. And let’s not forget the Sun, with its mysteriously hot corona and solar flares. This book is a trip to the Solar System through marvelous illustrations accompanied by a comprehensive text that helps the reader understand the amazing variety of landscapes within our planetary system. The planetary images and data provided by scientific instruments have contributed to our understanding of how and why planets evolve.