Duration
20h Th, 10h Pr
Number of credits
| Master in space sciences, research focus | 3 crédits | |||
| Master in space sciences, professional focus | 3 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The course SPAT0055 was based on a detailed study of the atmosphere of the Earth. It made it possible to introduce several basic concepts of atmospheric physics. The present SPAT0056 course moves in the same way and extends the scope of these laws of physics to the atmosphere of other planets of the solar system and to exoplanets. Differences in planetary atmospheres are directly owing to their formation and thus to the formation of the solar (stellar) system. The case 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
- 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
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. The field of exoplanetary atmospheres is just starting. The students will become familiar with current detection methods and understand their limitations for deriving atmospheric information.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
This course is the natural sequel to course SPAT0055 (Earth's Atmosphere) or SPAT0048-4 (Earth's Atmospheric and Space Environment).
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Blended learning (mainly presential)
Additional information:
Partly face-to-face, powerpoint-type presentations.
A recorded version (MP4) of all lectures is available on Vimeo (links provided).
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
Lecture notes are PDF versions of the slides shown in class. These PDF files are updated throughout the academic year and can 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
Further information:
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
- Remote
oral exam
Additional information:
The oral exam consists of the presentation of the article analysed in French or in English.
Students have about 15 minutes to present the content of the article, what they have learned from it, and to try to relate it to the material presented in the course.
Questions will be asked about the article and the material seen in the course. The evaluation will be based on:
- the mastery of the material presented (20%),
- the highlighting of links with the course (15%),
- the quality and care of the presentation (15%) and
- the relevance of the answers to the questions (50%).
In case of remote oral examination, use of MS Teams (backup solution).
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
It is highly recommended to attend the face-to-face classes.
All movies available for download on Vimeo must be viewed.
Contacts
Prof Denis Grodent
Laboratory for Planetary 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
d.grodent@uliege.be
Office: B5c (Astrophysique et Géophysique) - 0/5
Association of one or more MOOCs
Items online
PDF version of the slides presented during the classes.
PDF version of the slides presented during the classes.