GE303 - PLANETARY ASTROPHYSICS

courses

ID:

GE303

Duration (hours):

60

CFU:

SSD:

ASTRONOMIA E ASTROFISICA

Located in:

PESCARA

Url:

Course Details:

PLANETARY SCIENCES/PLANETARY SCIENCES AND SPACE EXPLORATION Year: 1

Year:

2025

Course Catalogue:

https://unich.coursecatalogue.cineca.it/af/2025?co...

Date/time interval

Primo Semestre (22/09/2025 - 23/12/2025)

Course Objectives

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to planetary astrophysics, focusing on the physical and chemical processes that shape planetary systems, with an emphasis on our Solar System and exoplanetary systems. Through lectures, practical exercises, and data analysis tools, students will explore planetary formation, internal structures, atmospheres, and observational techniques.
The course covers the following topics:

Overview of the Solar System: Inventory and classification of planetary bodies, physical and orbital properties.

The Sun and Solar Nebula: Solar structure and energy generation, the role of the Sun in planetary system formation, hydrostatic equilibrium, and atmospheric pressure.

Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: Star formation, accretion processes, condensation sequences, and atmospheric evolution; comparison between terrestrial and giant planet formation models.

Electromagnetic Radiation and Spectroscopy: Blackbody radiation, Planck's and Stefan-Boltzmann's laws, spectral features of atoms and molecules; applications to the study of planetary atmospheres and surfaces through IR and mass spectroscopy.

Interiors and Atmospheres of Gas Giants: Internal structure models of Jupiter and Saturn (including JUNO mission results), atmospheric dynamics and global circulation models (GCMs).

Meteorites and Primitive Bodies: Classification and origin of chondrites and achondrites; cometary nuclei, asteroid belt dynamics, and physical properties.

Outer Solar System and Planetary Migration: Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), trans-Neptunian objects, volatile retention, and planetary migration theories.

Comets and the Oort Cloud: Comet classification, structure models, and spectral observations; origin and evolution of comets.

Exoplanets: Detection techniques (radial velocity, transit, microlensing, direct imaging), exoplanet demographics, and atmospheric characterization.

Planetary Atmospheres: Comparative analysis of atmospheric structure and circulation on Earth, Mars, Venus, and Titan.

Course Prerequisites

There are no formal prerequisites for this course.

Teaching Methods

The course consists of theoretical lectures and practical exercises.
Lectures provide the physical foundations and scientific context of planetary astrophysics, while exercises focus on the application of these concepts through problem solving (using Matlab)

Assessment Methods

The final grade will be based on two components:

Written Exam: A test consisting of theoretical questions designed to assess the student's overall understanding of the course content.
Oral Exam: An individual interview aimed at further evaluating the student's comprehension and critical understanding of the topics covered in the course.

The final score will be the average of the written and oral exam grades.

Texts

Planetary Sciences, de Peter & Lissauer

The course explores the physical, chemical, and observational foundations of planetary systems, with a focus on the Solar System and comparative planetology. Topics include the formation and evolution of planets and satellites, planetary interiors and atmospheres, solar radiation and spectroscopy, minor bodies and meteorites, and the detection and characterization of exoplanets. Practical sessions introduce students to computational and data analysis tools commonly used in planetary science, including Matlab.