Planetary Sciences @ UCSC

Planetary science covers studies of both bodies in this Solar System, and the 600 or so exoplanets known in other planetary systems.  Research typically focuses on determining the structure and evolution of these bodies, and how they interact with each other. Studies can cover anything from planets many times the mass of Jupiter to microscopic dust grains recovered from comets.

Planetary data are acquired both by spacecraft and  astronomical observations, and are often combined with sophisticated numerical models. Both theoretical and observational planetary science are major research focus areas at UCSC, involving faculty from the Astronomy, Applied Math and Statistics and Earth & Planetary Science Departments. Much of this research is supported through the Center for the Origin and Dynamical Evolution of Planets, a part of the UCSC branch of the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics.

Jonathan Fortney and Greg Laughlin study the structure and dynamics of extrasolar planets, such as the transiting planet HD209458B. In addition to learning about the known exoplanets, these studies inform the design of NASA missions, both current (such as Kepler) and future.

Erik Asphaug and Francis Nimmo are concerned with the structures and evolution of bodies in this solar system, including asteroids and icy moons. They and Doug Lin are interested in  the earliest stages of solar system history, which involved violent collisions forming bodies like the Earth's Moon, as well as the accumulation of gas onto giant planets. Doug and Pascale Garaud have been studying grain growth in gas orbiting recently formed stars and comparing their predictions with observations of the thermal signature and structure of extrasolar debris disks. 

Convective motions in the interiors of stars and gas giants are complicated and may be influenced by magnetic fields. Gary Glatzmaier, Pascale Garaud and Nic Brummel all work on different aspects of these problems.