Home : Book details : Book description

Description of  Planetary Geology: An introduction Ed 2

Recent planetary missions by NASA, the European Space Agency and other national bodies have reaffirmed that geological processes familiar from our studies of the Earth operate on many solid planets and satellites. Common threads link the internal structure, thermal evolution and surface character of both rocky and icy worlds, and volcanoes, impact craters, ice caps, dunes, rift valleys, rivers and oceans emerge as features of extra-terrestrial worlds as diverse as Mercury and Titan. The new data also reveal that many supposedly inert planetary bodies currently experience eruptions, landslides and dust storms. Moreover our understanding of the Solar System has greatly benefited from the analysis of meteorites from Mars as well as rock samples collected on the Moon. Read more