Astro and Planetary Science

Planetary science and astrophysics reconstruct how the Sun and its retinue of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets formed roughly 4.6 billion years ago, drawing on chemical fingerprints preserved in chondritic meteorites, the elemental abundances of giant and terrestrial planets, and the icy debris of comets and Kuiper Belt objects. Because each of these bodies froze in different conditions at different distances from the young Sun, comparing their compositions and ages allows researchers to trace how materials were sorted, mixed, and delivered across the early Solar System. Active questions include how the timing of giant planet migration shaped the bombardment history recorded in planetary surfaces, and what the organic-rich plumes venting from Saturn's moon Enceladus reveal about the prospects for chemistry—and possibly life—in subsurface oceans. Advances in asteroid taxonomy, isotopic dating, and spacecraft sampling continue to sharpen the timeline and the inventory of ingredients from which rocky worlds, including Earth, were ultimately assembled.

Works

321,332

Total citations

2,859,895

Keywords

Solar System AbundancesTerrestrial PlanetsGiant PlanetsCometary CompositionAsteroid TaxonomyPlanetary Chronology