GEOL 2020

The Planets

Spacecraft exploration over the past 50 years has revealed the diversity and complexity of the Earths neighbors in space. This course is designed to explore the varied surface landscapes of planets and moons in the solar system and to understand the processes that created them. Topics for discussion will include the origin of the solar system, comparisons among the planetary bodies, and the processes which modify their surfaces (tectonics, volcanism, impact cratering, weather and climate, glaciations, and other processes). The spacecraft and sensors used to study planetary bodies will also be discussed.

Units: 3.0