Planetary Systems Now. This item is unavailable.Planetary Systems Now

Planetary Systems Now offers a broad, interdisciplinary perspective and introduction to the latest results from leading experts in each field. It offers an unusually wide range of research on topics both inside and outside of the solar system, as well as the most recent results from ongoing ground- and space-based investigations. Experts in their field come together in this volume to discuss solar system exploration with its most recent space missions, theories and evidence concerning planetary system formation, and the nature and formation of exoplanets and exoplanetary systems. Including both questions and answers, this book is intended to be a readable, heavily-illustrated stepping-off point for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scientists beginning research in planetary and exoplanetary science topics.

Luisa M Lara is a planetary scientist devoting her career to the study of the planets and minor bodies of the solar system. This study is undertaken from a theoretical and observational point of view, as well as getting involved in the design and development of space missions and their scientific instruments. She has received ESA certificates for outstanding contributions to the Cassini-Huygens (NASA-ESA-ASI), Rosetta (ESA) and Bepi Colombo (ESA-JAXA) missions. She has served in the Solar System and Exploration Working Group and in the Space Science Advisory Committee of ESA. She is currently the only Spanish female full member of the International Academy of Astronautics. Her most noteworthy works in planetary science are related to Titan's atmosphere and to the nature of cometary surfaces thanks to the data provided by the Rosetta spacecraft (ESA). Currently, Luisa M Lara is Professor at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, committed to deliver several instruments for the exploration of a dynamically new comet with the Comet Interceptor ESA-JAXA mission, and an IR spectrometer to study the Venus atmosphere. She is also leading a group of researchers to ensure the scientific return of these missions.

David Jewitt is an observational astronomer interested in the small bodies of the solar system. Using mostly simple techniques, he aims to discover the nature of these bodies and from them to better understand the formation of the solar system. He was awarded the Shaw Prize in Astronomy and the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics for his discovery and exploration of the Kuiper Belt. Recently, he has unveiled a new population of active asteroids in the main belt and, separately, investigated the first two interstellar interlopers. Jewitt is currently Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he teaches two large classes in planetary science and oceanography.