Duration
15h Th
Number of credits
| Specialised master in cosmos exploration | 2 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This course attempts to show how the formation of the solar system may have influenced the structure and composition of the different planets. Particular emphasis is being placed on planetary atmospheres. we show that these atmospheres have evolved differently, and that the appearance of life on Earth has had a major influence on our atmosphere, as we know it today.
Another course ("Atmosphere of the Earth") is based on a detailed study of the Earth's atmosphere and introduces the different concepts of atmospheric physics. These concepts are used in the "Solar system planets" course, which continues in this direction, in order to extend the scope of these physical laws to the atmospheres of the planets of the solar system (and to exoplanets). The differences between the atmospheres of the planets are directly related to how they were formed and, therefore, to the formation of the solar (stellar) system. The example of exoplanets allows us to explore more exotic atmospheres.
I. Introduction - Recaps
- The new solar system
- Definitions
- Titius-Bode's Law
- Planets of the solar system
- Planetary orbits and rotations
- Coordinate systems
- Planetary configurations
- Kepler's Law
- The N-body problem (N=1,2,3)
- Tides
- Roche's limit
- N >3 perturbation of orbits and resonance
- Energy sources of planets
II. Formation and evolution of the solar system
- Review of theories
- Standard model
- Evolutionary processes
- Escape and erosion
- Impacts
- Origin of water on Earth
- Surface Processes
III. Planetary atmospheres
- Composition
- Primitive solar nebula
- Primitive atmospheres (giant planets)
- Secondary atmosphere (Earth)
- Evolution of planetary atmospheres
IV. Extrasolar planets
- Detection of exoplanets and their atmosphere
- Characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres
An alternative to this type of teaching, depending on the number and background of the students, could be an in-depth analysis of a particular topic related to the course, for example: water in the solar system. In this case the work would consist in the preparation of a complete course of at least one hour to be presented as an oral exam
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the course, students should be able to explain how the formation of the solar system influenced the atmospheric structure and composition of the different planets. They should be able to show that these planetary atmospheres evolved in different ways and that the emergence of life on Earth has had an dramatic effect on its atmosphere.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Good knowledge of general physics and its mathematical tools.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Blended learning
Additional information:
Partly face-to-face, powerpoint presentations.
A recorded version (MP4) of all lectures is available on Vimeo (links provided).
Recommended or required readings
PDF versions of the powerpoint presentations may be downloaded from eCampus.
Reference books/papers:
« An Introduction to Planetary Atmospheres » A. Sanchez-Lavega, CRC Press, 2011
« Atmosphères planétaires Origine et évolution » Th. Encrenaz, Belin, 2000
« The Exoplanet handbook » M. Perryman, Cambridge, 2011
« Exoplanet Atmospheres » Seager & Deming, Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 2010. 48:631-672
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
- Remote
oral exam
Written work / report
Additional information:
Oral exam.
Depending on the number and level of students, it may consist in a classical oral exam covering the whole course (2 questions), or in a presentation of an original personal work on a field related to the course.
In case of remote oral examination, use of MS Teams or Skype (backup solution).
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
It is highly recommended to attend the face-to-face classes.
All movies available for download on eCampus must be viewed.
Contacts
Prof Denis Grodent d.grodent@uliege.be
Laboratory for Planeatary and Atmospheric Physics
Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute
Université de Liège
Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique
Quartier AGORA (B5c)
Allée du Six Août, 19C
B-4000 Liège, Belgium
phone: +32 4 366 9773
http://www.lpap.uliege.be