Therese Encrenaz

In Searching for Water in the Solar System, Thérèse Encrenaz takes the reader on a journey through the Universe in search of water. She begins by introducing the most well-known of molecule H2O, its physical and chemical characteristics and its cosmic Formation and abundance. She examines the methods by which the presence of water is detected, both within the solar system and beyond. One by one she visits a diversity of locations in the cosmos, from the nearest planets to the furthest galaxies, where water has been discovered. In the formation of the solar system, she explains how the water molecule played a major part, with the so-called ‘ice frontier’ determining the natures of the terrestrial and giant planets. The book explores the presence of water in the various bodies of the Solar System: in the giant planets, with their rings and systems of satellites, in comets, asteroids and in the terrestrial planets. By tracing the history of water in the atmospheres of Mars, Venus and the Earth, the author explains how small differences in temperatures, causing water to exist in different states on different planets – vapour on Venus, liquid on Earth and solid ice on Mars – have led to a great divergence in the evolutions of the three planets. The story of water on Mars, an aspect of great topical interest, offers an insight into the possibility (still only a theory) that there was once life on that planet. The book concludes by looking at the important role played by water in studies of habitable exoplanets.

Searching for Water in the Universe

James Lequeux

This book presents a global and synthetic vision of planetology – the study of objects in the Solar System. In the past several decades, planetology has undergone a real revolution, marked in particular by the discovery of the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune, the discovery of extrasolar planets, and also by the space exploration of ever more distant objects. Today, it is at the crossroads of many disciplines: astronomy, geophysics, geochemistry and biology. The Solar System 2 studies the outer Solar System: satellites and rings of giant planets, small bodies and dwarf planets. It also deals with meteorites and cosmochemistry, as well as the formation and dynamics of the Solar System. It addresses the question of the origin of life and extraterrestrial life, and presents all of the methods in the study of planetology.

External Satellites, Small Bodies, Cosmochemistry, Dynamics, Exobiology

The Solar System 2

Jean-Pierre Bibring

M. Blanc

Maria-Antonietta Barucci

Francoise Roques

Philippe Zarka

In this third corrected and revised edition students and lecturers in astronomy and planetary science as well as planet observers will find a mine of up-to-date information on the solar system and its interaction with the interplanetary medium, its various objects, comparative planetology, discussion of questions for further research and future space exploration.

Therese Encrenaz

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