Planetary Science with Lab

Catalog description

This course is a tour of the planets and moons of the solar system and an introduction to their internal structures, atmospheres, and surface features. Processes that form planets and act continually to change them, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, giant impacts, are discussed, as are comets, asteroids, rings, and life. Information gained from spacecraft missions is highlighted. In the laboratory component, students will engage in planetary science inquiry using online interactive simulations and data gathered from space missions and ground-based observatories to help reinforce and build upon the concepts presented in the lecture portion of the course.