Cambridge Planetary Science Old – serie

Planetary Mapping describes the history and process of mapping planets and satellites beyond the Earth. Mapping planetary bodies is a unique process much different from ordinary terrestrial cartography. Although many kinds of imaging systems have been launched into interplanetary space, nearly all of them were designed for purposes other than map-making. Thus, special mapping techniques described in this book had to be invented to make use of images from space. Furthermore, planets and satellites are difficult to depict in maps. For instance, unlike on Earth, on planetary bodies there are no shorelines, rivers, roads or political boundaries to guide the map-maker. The book begins with an introduction to the differences between terrestrial and planetary mapping and continues with a general discussion of the history of planetary mapping. The fundamentals of cartographic techniques are described in detail in the next chapter. This is followed by sections on planetary nomenclature, geodetic considerations, and topographic and geologic mapping.

Planets have excited the minds of man since prehistory. In our own time planetary science has become a rapidly developing area of astronomical research, as the instruments carried by spacecraft have vastly increased our knowledge of planetary surfaces and interiors. the rocky planets of the inner solar system bear countless craters, scars of their encounters with innumerable meteorites, although the active surface of the earth has contrived to erase these features from our own planet. The outer giants, particularly Jupiter, have vigorous atmospheres, while Io, a satellite of Jupiter, has sulphur volcanoes. In this book Alan Cook explains how the mechanical properties of the planets are determined, how planetary materials behave at high pressure, and how celestial mechanics and the quantum physics of highly condensed matter may be combined to determine the general constitution of the planets.

When this book was first published in 1984, the technique of remote sounding was growing rapidly in importance as a means for studying the structure, climate and weather of the atmospheres of the Earth and planets. Measurements from Earth satellites and interplanetary spacecraft proved particularly useful because they allowed good coverage of atmospheric systems in space and time, often with high resolution. This book describes how measurements can be made of the properties of the Earth and planets using this method. It includes descriptions of the scientific principles, technical implementation, mathematical methods for analysing the measurements, a history of measurements that have been made and discussions of the phenomena that have been discovered and studied using remote sounding. The technique is important for meteorology, climatology and an understanding of humankind's impact on the Earth's atmosphere.

This book gives an account of geological aspects of windblown material. Aeolian processes play an important role in modifying the surface of the Earth, and they are also active on Mars. Additionally, they are thought to occur on Venus and possibly Titan as well. The authors describe the following aspects: wind as a geological process, the aeolian environment, physics of particle motion, aeolian abrasion and erosion; aeolian sand deposits and bedforms, interaction of wind and topography and windblown dust. A particular strength of the book is that it deals with aeolian processes in a planetary context, rather than as a purely terrestrial phenomenon. In so doing, the authors ably demonstrate how we can gain better understanding of the Earth through comparative planetology. This paperback reissue will enable the book to be used as a text for advanced students in planetary science. Special terms are defined when they are first used. There is a glossary and an exhaustive bibliography.

Jupiter's magnetosphere (the region of space in which Jupiter's magnetic field influences the motion of charged particles) is the largest object in the solar system; it exhibits new phenomena and behaves, in some respects, like a pulsar. It is a magnetosphere whose physics is dominated by internal sources of plasma and energy. This book consists of twelve carefully interwoven articles written by leading space scientists who summarize our state of knowledge of the physics of the magnetosphere surrounding the planet Jupiter. Ground-based data as well as information from the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft are used in developing both physical descriptions and theoretical understanding. Physics of the Jovian Magnetosphere is a valuable reference work for those doing research in magnetospheric physics and in a number of related disciplines.