Overview

Planetary science involves investigating planets in our solar system  (including Earth) as well as all the known moons and populations of small bodies. The study of “exoplanets”—meaning planets and planetary systems orbiting other stars—is also part of planetary science.

One of the oldest areas of study, recent discoveries of worlds orbiting other stars and improvements in technology have made planetary science a rapidly expanding scientific field.

Interdisciplinary Research

Planetary science encompasses a broad range of disciplines, including:

  • Planetary geology (together with geochemistry and geophysics)
  • Cosmochemistry
  • Atmospheric science
  • Oceanography

It also incorporates a number of sub-fields of astronomy, such as astrodynamics, star formation, accretion disk studies, computational orbital and spin dynamics, and computational fluid dynamics. 

At Rochester, our program involves a collaboration between the:

A unique aspect of our program is the involvement of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). The LLE houses the giant Omega Laser, which is used to study matter at extreme densities and temperatures. No other University in the world has the capabilities of the LLE with its capacity to reproduce and study the conditions deep inside planets.

As part of our planetary science program, Rochester researchers study the:

  • Nature of the early solar system, from the formation of the first solids, to the formation of planetesimals and of planets
  • Differentiation and magnetic field generation in Vesta and other meteorite parent bodies
  • Role of magnetic shielding in habitability
  • Climate on Earth and other worlds
  • Formation of planets in gaseous disks around stars, plus orbital and spin dynamics
  • Surface processes on rubble asteroids
  • Formation of moons via the giant impacts of young planets
  • Unknown processes occurring deep within Super-Earths