PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 1

Instructor: Shane Byrne – shane@lpl.arizona.edu – 626-0407

Lectures are Tuesday and Thursday 2pm – 3.15pm, all in this room.

‘Office hours’ after lectures on Tue./Thur.

Class website will contain everything! http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~shane/PTYS_554/ Lectures, homework etc…

Welcome to PTYS 554Evolution of Planetary Surfaces

PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 2

No final or mid-term exams.

~5 homework assignments Will use real-world spacecraft data and/or models

1 course project Early discussion of project topics is recommended Mid-term LPSC-style abstract Final writeup and oral presentation

Fieldtrip (3 days), involves camping Oct. 4-6th (Flagstaff area)

PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 3

Scope? Mostly based on

processes

Historical story at the beginning and end

PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 4

No Required Text, but the following are useful!

Melosh, 2011 Anderson and Anderson 2011

PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 5

Fieldtrip 10/4 – 10/6

Flagstaff area

Need drivers! Training is on September 17th

PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 6

PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 7

Dramaticus Personae

Impact cratering

VolcanoesTectonics

Eolian

FluvialGlacial

PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 8

On location…

Mars

Titan Enceladus

Mercury

PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 9

Planetary surfaces (area) are dominated by the terrestrial planets + Galilean Satellites + Titan

PYTS 554 – Course Introduction 10

The Story

4.5Billionyears

We’ve seen ~400 years worth of this story 1st hand One ten millionth of solar system history

Equivalent to watching 1 milli-second of a three hour movie Which we use to figure out the plot, the actors, and what plays

out at each location…