ESCI 214
The Planets
Instructor:
Lunar and Planetary Institute
3600 Bay Area Blvd.
Houston, TX 77058
Work: (281) 486-2116
Fax: (281) 486-2162
Home: (281) 333-5218
Class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:50 a.m. - 12:05 p.m., Room 107, Geology Building.
I will remain until 1:00 p.m. after class to answer questions. Otherwise, you may call or email me with questions. The best times to catch me are between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. at my work number.
Required text - The Planetary System, 3rd Edition, by David Morrison and Tobias Owen, Addison Wesley Publishing, 2003. There is a web site for the book at
http://wps.aw.com/aw_morrison_planetsys_3/0,6095,446863-main,00.html. The web site has review questions, tutorials, etc., that are fairly useful.
Grading:
3 non-cumulative tests (including final) 25% each
Term paper 25%
Note: Homework may be assigned but will not be graded.
Make-up exams given only for those with excellent, verifiable excuses who, if at all possible, notified me in advance. Make-up exam dates are at instructor's discretion. More tolerance is shown for those who want to take an exam early rather than late.
Notes and images for each week can be obtained by clicking on the date below:
ESCI 214, Fall 2003
Week of :
8/26 Introduction Chap. 1, 3
Review of the Solar System
9/2 Review of the Solar System (cont.)
Formation of the Solar System Chapter 17
9/9 Available Data
9/16 Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets Chapters 4-6
9/23 Planetary Interiors Chapter 9.2
Test 1 on 9/25 - Through planetary interiors
9/30 Impact Cratering Chap 7.3 - 7.4
images -- planetary interiors and impact cratering
10/7 Impact Cratering (cont.)
Volcanism and Tectonics Chap 9.3 - 9.4
notes -- volcanism, tectonics, and erosion
images -- volcanism, tectonics, and erosion
10/16 (10/14 - Fall Recess) Volcanism and Tectonics (cont.)
Erosion
10/21 Earth Chapter 9
10/28 Moon and Mercury Chap. 7,8
11/4 Test 2 on 11/4 - through Moon and Mercury
Venus Chapter 10
11/11 Venus (cont.)
11/18 Mars Chapter 11
11/25 Outer Planet Satellites Chapter 15,16
12/2 Future Missions
Take Home Final, Term paper due with final
TERM PAPER
The term paper will be 8 - 12 pages of double - spaced 12 pt. text, 1" margins, not including title page, abstract, references, tables, or figures. Twenty points will be deducted for papers not within this length range. The paper should discuss a topic in planetary geology for which multiple points of view exist. The author should summarize existing knowledge of a topic and support a particular point of view.
Format:
- Title page - Must include your name and title of the paper
- Abstract
- Body of the paper. 8 - 12 pages
- References
- Figure Captions
- Tables
- Figures
Format should file AGU (American Geophysical Union) style guide for submitted manuscripts - Style guide can be found at http://www.agu.org/pubs/au_contrib_rev.html. Use the Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) examples. Ignore the directions for title page and index terms. If you use the sample templates please reformat everything to double-spaced 12 pt. text with 1" margins. Term papers should be submitted in hardcopy, not electronic, form.
Term paper is due at 1:00 P.M. on 12/2. Twenty points off per day for late papers.
Possible topics (although others may be selected):
- Resurfacing history of Venus
- Mars crustal dichotomy
- Life on Mars
- History of water on Mars
- Does Europa have an ocean
- Formation of complex craters
- Formation of impact basins
- Association of asteroids and meteorites