Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T11:30:48.946Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - Observations of Planetary Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2020

Philip J. Armitage
Philip J. Armitage
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University, State University of New York
HTML view is not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the 'Save PDF' action button.

Summary

Chapter 1 introduces key observational constraints for the theory of planet formation. It reviews the properties of the Solar System's planets and minor bodies, explains the principle of radioactive dating of primitive meteorites, and defines the minimum mass Solar Nebula. The main methods used to detect extrasolar planets - radial velocity monitoring, transits, direct imaging, microlensing, and astrometry - are introduced and compared. Observed properties of extrasolar planetary systems are reviewed, including the orbital distribution of planets, their mass-radius relation, and the dependence of planet frequency on stellar host properties. The concept of the habitable zone and the factors that influence planetary habitability are described.

Keywords

Solar Systemexoplanetsextrasolar planetsdetectioncharacterizationhabitability
Type
Chapter
Information
Astrophysics of Planet Formation , pp. 1 - 48
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×