GEOS 294
The Solar System
Instructor:
Geophysical Institute
108I WRRB
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320
Work: (907) 474-6445
Fax: (907) 474-7290
Home: (907) 455-4664
Dr. Herrick's graduate assistants: Abby Gleason and Katie Hessen, (907) 474-1152
Class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:20 - 6:50 p.m., Room 233, Natural Sciences Building.
Official office hours are 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Monday and Wednesday. I am often in my office between 10:00 - 5:00 during the week if you wish to drop by, or you may call or email me with questions.
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) 23.3% each (70% total for tests)
Term paper 20%
Homework 10%
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.
GEOS 294, Spring 2006
Week of :
1/24 - Review of the Solar System Chap. 1, 3
1/31 - Formation of the Solar System Chapter 17
topic 2 notes, t2 images part 1, t2 images part 2, t2 images part 3, t2 images part 4
2/7 Available Data
Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets Chapters 4-6
2/14 Planetary Interiors Chapter 9.2
topic 5 notes, images, interiors and impact cratering
2/21 Test 1 – Through planetary interiors (2/21)
Impact Cratering Chapter 7.3 – 7.4
topic 6 notes, demo of sf-dist
2/28 Impact Cratering (cont.)
Volcanism and Tectonics Chap 9.3 – 9.4
topic 7 notes, geologic processes, images, volcanism, tectonics, and erosion
3/7 Volcanism and Tectonics (cont.)
Erosion
3/14 Spring break, no classes
3/21 Earth Chapter 9
3/28 Moon and Mercury Chap. 7,8
topic 9 notes, images moon and Mercury
4/4 Test 2 – through Moon and Mercury (4/4)
Venus Chapter 10
4/11 Venus (cont.)
Mars Chapter 11
link to Themis movie and images of Valles Marineris
4/18 Mars (cont.)
4/25 Rings Chapter 16
Outer Planet Satellites Chapter 15
topic 12 notes, images outer planets and moons (except Saturn's)
5/2 Term Paper Due (5/2)
Outer Planet Satellites (cont.)
Saturn lecture, Saturn's moons lecture
Test 3 during final exam period, Tuesday May 9, 5:45 - 7:45
TERM PAPER
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 science 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 – Directions for how to prepare a paper can be found at http://www.agu.org/pubs/au_contrib_rev.html. Ignore the directions for index terms and supporting nonprint material. Please pay particular attention to the link for the Grammar and Style Guide and the Reference Style Guide Term papers should be submitted in hardcopy, not electronic, form.
A sample manuscript that is in the correct format for a term paper can be found here. The official AGU reference format has changed slightly since the sample manuscript was created, and you can use either the old or current format as long as you are consistent.
References should be peer-reviewed articles from relevant scientific journals with perhaps a few references to abstracts from presentations at scientific meetings. With few exceptions, WEB PAGES ARE NOT REFERENCES. At least five references must be peer-reviewed articles or books. The most common publications that have articles in planetary science are: Nature, Science, Journal of Geophysical Research (Planets), Icarus, Meteoritics and Planetary Science, Geology, and Geophysical Research Letters. Two good places to look up articles are the NASA Astrophysics Data System (http://adswww.harvard.edu/) and the abstracts of a recent Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/abstracts.shtml).
Twenty points off per day for late papers.
Sample topics (others may be selected):
- Resurfacing history of Venus
- Dating surfaces on Mars with small craters
- The dark area on Iapetus
- History of water on Mars
- Does Europa have an ocean?
- Formation of complex craters
- Association of asteroids and meteorites