Overview

Understanding planetary habitability is one of the major challenges of the current scientific era, and is a vast inter-disciplinary undertaking that combines planetary science, climate science, and stellar astrophysics. This book provides an overview of the many processes that influence the energy balance of planetary surface environments and control the sustainability of temperate conditions. These factors include such aspects as the influence of stars, the atmospheres and interiors or planets, and the orbital dynamics of planetary systems. Also described are the concepts behind the habitable zone, lessons learned from solar system data, and the vast opportunities that are provided by exoplanet discoveries, both now and into the future. Key Features: Summarises current exoplanet discoveries relevant to habitability Aimed at graduate students and researchers with an interest in exoplanets and astrobiology Describes the primary factors that influence the habitability of a planet Emphasises the need for in situ data in our solar system Covers the degeneracy of geosignatures and biosignatures

Full Product Details

9780750321181

Table of Contents

Reviews

This textbook offers a very accessible introduction to the topic of planetary habitability, both in the context of Solar System bodies and exoplanets. It focuses on the concept of the Habitable Zone (HZ), which it breaks down according to three broad influencing factors: the planet itself, the stellar host, and the planetary system. The different chapters and their sections are very well linked together, and often invite the reader to recall a concept previously explained. Planetary habitability is a young and fast-evolving field and the author acknowledges the necessary incompleteness of his textbook, emphasizing that each approach is likely case-specific in a way not yet obvious . In this context, Professor Kane chooses to remain very Earth- and Solar System centric and approaches planetary habitability strictly through the lens of the Habitable Zone - for which he is extremely thorough and consistent. Estelle Janin, The Observatory, October 2022 -- Estelle Janin * The Observatory *

"This textbook offers a very accessible introduction to the topic of planetary habitability, both in the context of Solar System bodies and exoplanets. It focuses on the concept of the Habitable Zone (HZ), which it breaks down according to three broad influencing factors: the planet itself, the stellar host, and the planetary system. The different chapters and their sections are very well linked together, and often invite the reader to recall a concept previously explained. Planetary habitability is a young and fast-evolving field and the author acknowledges the necessary incompleteness of his textbook, emphasizing that each approach ""is likely case-specific in a way not yet obvious"". In this context, Professor Kane chooses to remain very Earth- and Solar System centric and approaches planetary habitability strictly through the lens of the Habitable Zone - for which he is extremely thorough and consistent. Estelle Janin, The Observatory, October 2022"

Author Information

Stephen R. Kane is a Professor of Planetary Astrophysics at the University of California, Riverside. His work covers a broad range of topics related to planetary astrophysics and he has discovered and co-discovered hundreds of planets orbiting other stars. He is a leading expert on the topic of planetary habitability, the habitable zone of planetary systems, and the study of why Venus and Earth underwent divergent evolutions. He is a prominent scientific leader for several NASA missions designed to search for life in the universe. He is also a prolific advocate of interdisciplinarity science through the combination of biology, climate science, geophysics, planetary science, and stellar astrophysics.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available