For the past 4,000 years, ancient and modern astronomers have tracked the motion of the solar system planets across the sky. Thanks to some very recent discoveries and technological innovations, we now know of thousands of additional planets orbiting other stars. With the cumulative knowledge of millennia of solar system research and recent extrasolar breakthroughs, what planetary science questions can we now answer? How do planets form and evolve? Does the solar system look like a typical planetary system? How many planets are similar to Earth and can any support life? Students in this course will explore these questions and more while developing skills vital to scientific inquiry, writing, and communication. |