Planetary Systems

Course manual 2024/2025

Course content

The discovery and study of exoplanetary systems is currently revolutionizing the field of planetary sciences. In this course we will focus on comparing the solar system of which the Earth and her seven sister planets are a part, with the newly discovered systems around hundreds of other stars. The course will start with an inventory on the general makeup of classes of planets (Earth-like, Jupiter-like, Neptune-like) and other objects (Asteroids, Comets, Ice dwarf planets), as well as looking at the construction and dynamics of the solar system.
After covering the methods that are used to study exoplanetary system, we will look in depth at the results, both the properties of individual exoplanets and the structure of the planetary systems. We will look at the new dynamics that is necessary to understand some of these systems. We will also look at the important aspect of habitable zones around stars, and the implications for the possibility of life in the Universe.

Study materials

Literature

• Jack Lissauer and Imke de Pater, 'Fundamental Planetary Sciences', ISBN: 9780521618557.

Objectives

• Know the different regions in the solar system and the types of objects they contain.
• Describe the fundamental characteristics of the objects in the Solar System (scales, sizes, masses, distances, orbital dynamics, eccentricties).
• Understand the dynamical effects that shape the solar system.
• Apply Newton’s and Kepler’s laws to solve various problems related to planetary motion.
• Apply the laws for tidal forces and escape velocities.
• Compute basics properties of planetary atmospheres (Equilibrium temperature, temperature structure, wind velocity, weather patterns).
• Understand the difference in planetary bodies, surfaces and atmospheres and the causes responsible for those differences.
• Identify and Explain the main features seen on objects discussed in this class (moons, rings, craters, weather patterns, asteroids, exoplanet signatures).
• Produce a simple representation (toy model) of any planet’s atmospheres, devise energy input/output, and predict spectra. 
• Apply comparative exoplanetology techniques as tools for critical thinking and concept learning.
• Analyse and interpret images and spectra from planets.
• Know and be able to explain the various methods used to discover extrasolar planets.
• Derive properties of extrasolar planets and their orbits from a given set of observations.
• Understand the basic factors relevant for the search for extraterrestrial life.
• Have an overview of the formation of the solar system.
• Derive orders of magnitudes used in planetary sciences (timescales, masses, mass).

Teaching methods

• Hoorcollege
• Werkcollege

Hoorcollege en werkcollege.

Learning activities

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (TER-B):

• Each student is expected to participate actively in each component of the programme that he/she signed up for. A student that does not attend the first two seminars of a course, will be administratively removed from the seminar group. A request for reregistration for the seminars can be applied to the programme coordinator.
• If a student cannot attend an obligatory component of a programme's component due to circumstances beyond his control, he must report in writing to the relevant teacher as soon as possible. The teacher, if necessary after consulting the study adviser, may decide to issue the student a replacing assignment.
• It is not allowed to miss obligatory commponents of the programme if there is no case of circumstances beyond one's control.
• In case of participating qualitatively or quantitatively insufficiently, the examiner can expel a student from further participation in the programme's component or a part of that component. Conditions for sufficient participation are set down in advance in the course manual.
• In addition to the above mentioned rules, in the first semester of the first year a student should be present in at least 80% of the seminars. Moreover, participation to midterm tests and obligatory homework is required. If the student does not comply with these obligations, the student is expelled from the resit of this course. Students in the double Bachelor's degree programme Mathematics and Physics are exempted from this requirement. In case of personal circumstances, as described in OER-A Article A-6.4, a different study plan will be made in consultation with the study advisor.

Assessment

For each lecture except the first one you will get a problem set, partially selected from the book, and partially formulated by me.  The problem set will be introduced in the problem session. so you need to be there to the the problem sheet.  If you cannot be there (with a good reason), mail to your TA and they will give you the problems.  I very strongly recommend you work out all the problems yourself – it is the best and also the necessary excercise you need to for the exam. We will not be grading the worked-out problems - but you are invited to hand in you solultion for the TA to check.  At the beginning of problem sessions, thet TAs will go over the more common issues that happened with a previous set of problems, before moving to the new problems.

 During the block we will run several small tests of about 20 Minutes each.  These test will happen in the problem sessions - you need to be there when that happens.  The tests will be short questions, some in Multiple Choice form, to check of the understanding of the subject matter is proceeding properly.  The tests together will contribute 20% to the final grade.

Every student also will have to write a short essay (1500 words) over a recent research paper.

At the end of the course we will have a three-hour exam, for 70% of the grade.  You also need to pass the exam - i.e. you cannot compensate a 5.0 in the exam with the earlier tests.  You need at least a 5.5 in the exam itself, even if you get all 10s in the tests.

In the exam there will be a short list of terms that will test your knowledge.  And the rest will be problems similar to the ones you had to do for during the course, so it will test both understanding and technical skills.  The book contains many more problems than we will be able to do - a good preparation for the exam will be to take at least a study all the problems we are not working out during the block (as well as the ones you did do, of course).  You will find that not all the problems are formulated completely sharply, and that some open

questions are included.  This is on purpose and you are encourage to use judgement your own argued decisions to deal with this.  We will grade these answers corresponding to context - so for example if you did the calculation wrong, but your answer to an open question makes sense in the context of your wrong result, that will be OK.

Inspection of assessed work

The manner of inspection will be communicated via the digitial learning environment.

For at least twenty working days after the announcement of the results of a written examination, the student can, on request, inspect his/her assessed work, the questions and assignments set, as well as the standards applied for marking. The place and time will be announced via Blackboard (from Teaching and Examination Regulations).

Assignments

Essay

• Each student has to write an essay about a recent scientific article on the subject. These articles will be made available on Blackboard.  Students also get problem sets to work on during the problem sessions and at home.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Additional information

Aanbevolen voorkennis: Sterrenkunde 1. Introductory courses in Astronomy, Physics and Mathematics.

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. J.M.L.B. Désert