Planetary theories with the aid of the expansions of elliptic functions

For coplanar circular orbits, the mutual perturbations between two bodies can be expressed in term of the argument of Jacobian elliptic functions instead of the difference of the mean longitudes. For a given pair of planets, such a change of time variable improves the convergence of the developments. At the first order of planetary masses an integration of Lagrange's equations for the osculating elements is performed. When compared to classical developments the results are reduced by an important factor. The method is then extended to the mutual perturbations of Jupiter and Saturn, at any order of planetary masses, either with Fourier series with two arguments, or with one argument solely, taking advantage of the close commensurability of the mean motions.     

Planetary magnetospheres

Two decades ofin situ planetary exploration with fly-by missions have revealed a rich variety of magnetospheric configurations and dynamical phenomena, some anticipated and some remarkably surprising. These discoveries have set the stage for further exploration of planetary magnetospheres by orbiting spacecraft.     

Planetary Systems

The past decade brought direct evidence of the previously surmised exoplanetary systems. A variety of planetary system types exist: those around pulsars, around both young and old main-sequence stars (as evidenced by planetesimal disks of the Beta Pictoris-type), and the mature giant exoplanets found in radial velocity surveys. The surprising diversity of the exoplanetary systems is addressed by several theories of their origin. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Planetary magnetism

The origin and maintenance of planetary magnetic fields are discussed. The discussion is not limited to dynamo theories although these are almost universally favored. Thermoelectric currents are found to be a possible alternative for Jupiter. Two energy sources for dynamos are considered: convection and precessionally induced fluid flow. The earth is the most favorabl planet for a precessionally driven dynamo, although Neptune is a possibility. Jupiter is likely to have a convectionally driven dynamo, as may Saturn, but the relevant properties of Saturn are not yet well known. Conclusions for each planet are given.     

Planetary dynamos

Planetary magnetic fields are thought to be generated by magnetohydrodynamic dynamos acting in the convecting, electrically conducting fluid cores of these cosmic bodies. Similar processes are believed to produce a wide variety of other cosmic magnetic fields, including the fields of the Sun and stars. At present, we understand the basic physical processes involved in dynamo magnetic field generation. However, a detailed understanding still eludes us both because of continuing uncertainty about planetary interior structures, properties, and fluid motions, and because of our still primitive capacity for dealing with the complex, nonlinear dynamical processes involved in the fully elaborated dynamo process.     

Planetary Nebulae

This review summarizes spectroscopic and imaging results obtained on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) on well-known planetary nebulae: the young nebula NGC 7027, and two fully evolved nearby nebulae, the Dumbbell and the Helix. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Planetary balloons

Discussion of the physics of aerostats for the exploration of Venus, Mars and Titan, with a prospective view on future missions     

Extrasolar Planetary Systems

The discovery of planetary systems around alien stars is an outstanding achievement of recent years. The idea that the Solar System may be representative of planetary systems in the Galaxy in general develops upon the knowledge, current until the last decade of the 20th century, that it is the only object of its kind. Studies of the known planets gave rise to a certain stereotype in theoretical research. Therefore, the discovery of exoplanets, which are so different from objects of the Solar System, alters our basic notions concerning the physics and very criteria of normal planets. A substantial factor in the history of the Solar System was the formation of Jupiter. Two waves of meteorite bombardment played an important role in that history. Ultimately there arose a stable low-entropy state of the Solar System, in which Jupiter and the other giants in stable orbits protect the inner planets from impacts by dangerous celestial objects, reducing this danger by many orders of magnitude. There are even variants of the anthropic principle maintaining that life on Earth owes its genesis and development to Jupiter. Some 20 companions more or less similar to Jupiter in mass and a few infrared dwarfs, have been found among the 500 solar-type stars belonging to the main sequence. Approximately half of the exoplanets discovered are of the hot-Jupiter type. These are giants, sometimes of a mass several times that of Jupiter, in very low orbits and with periods of 3–14 days. All of their parent stars are enriched with heavy elements, [Fe/H] = 0.1–0.2. This may indicate that the process of exoplanet formation depends on the chemical composition of the protoplanetary disk. The very existence of exoplanets of the hot-Jupiter type considered in the context of new theoretical work comes up against the problem of the formation of Jupiter in its real orbit. All the exoplanets in orbits with a semimajor axis of more than 0.15–0.20 astronomical units (AU) have orbital eccentricities of more than 0.1, in most cases of 0.2–0.5. In conjunction with their possible migration into the inner reaches of the Solar System, this poses a threat to the very existence of the inner planets. Recent observations of gas–dust clouds in very young stars show that hydrogen dissipates rapidly, in several million years, and dissipation is completed earlier than, according to the accretion theory, the gas component of such a planet as Jupiter forms. The mass of the remaining hydrogen is usually small, much smaller than Jupiter's mass. However, the giant planets of the Solar System retain a few percent of the amount of hydrogen that should be contained in the early protoplanetary disk, creating difficulties in understanding their formation. A plausible explanation is that gravitational instabilities in the protoplanetary disk could be the mechanism of their rapid formation.     

行星环动力学

行星环动力学的研究对揭示太阳系，星系的形成和演化有重要的意义，旅行者２号的行星际探测，极大地丰富的我们对行星环的认识，给行星环动力学的研究带来了活力，文中综合在行星轴对称势，环自引力势，环粒子磁撞，卫星摄动等因素影响了行星环的研究方法法及研究进展。     

Planetary distance law

A general form of the planetary distance law has been proposed in this paper.     

Planetary atmospheres with ALMA

Thanks to its sensitivity, spatial resolution and instantaneous uv-coverage, ALMA will permit many new studies related to the general topic of the couplings between chemistry and dynamics in planetary atmospheres. It will include: (1) three-dimensional mapping of composition, temperatures and winds in the atmospheres of Mars, Venus and Titan; (2) several aspects of Giant Planet composition and dynamics, such as the origin of oxygen, the evolution of Shoemaker–Levy 9 products in Jupiter’s atmosphere, and the deep atmosphere structure and meteorology; (3) the study of tenuous and distant atmospheres (Io, Enceladus, Pluto, Triton and other Kuiper Belt objects).     

Modelling the Planetary Nebula

Deep narrow-band imaging and spectroscopy of the Planetary Nebula (PN)surrounding V4334 Sagittarii have been obtained since the onset of thethermal pulse in the star. Although of low surface brightness,narrow-band imaging suggests a ring structure maybepresent. Abundances, expansion rates and physical parameters for thenebula, derived from spectroscopy, show the plasma to be essentiallytypical of old evolved PN (within the errors of observation). The mostrecent data show little evidence of recombination indicating a verylow plasma electron density.Assuming no recombination has occurred, models of the PN spectrum wereconstructed using both simplistic ideas as well as sophisticatedphoto-ionisation codes. These show good agreement, and suggest that thepre-outburst UV radiation field would need to be powered by aprecursor with a surface temperature of T > 10⁵K. The luminosity ofthis star is less well constrained by the models, and cannot be usedsolely to accurately determine its distance. However, by excludingunrealistic models we expect 250 > L/L_odot > 1000 or so. When plotted ona HR diagram for evolved stars this shows good agreement with thatexpected for a pre-last thermal pulse object.     

行星天文学的重要地位及其热点

对1995年至2001年《Natue》和《Science》上发表的天文学论文的统计表明，行星天文学领域的论文数量明显超过天文学的其它分支学科，占天文学总论文数的1/3左右。从这个角度来看，行星天文学是天文学最活跃和重要的分支学科之一。对这些论文具体内容的分析可以给出当前行星天文学领域的若干热点问题。相比之下，我国对这一重要领域的关注和投入还远远不够。     

Planetary engineering on Mars

Some 10⁹ to 10¹⁰ metric tons of low albedo material, transported during the course of a century to the permanent Martian polar caps, may be capable of rapidly transforming Mars to much more Earth-like conditions. Alternatively the introduction to Mars of a dark plant which grows on the polar snows might accomplish the same objective. Fortunately neither program is a practical engineering venture for the near future.     

Planetary nebulae and ALMA

Our understanding of the late evolution of intermediate mass stars (∼1–8M_⊙) through the planetary nebula phase is undergoing major developments. Observations at infrared and millimeter wavelengths have revealed important components of neutral gas and dust in the nebulae that directly trace their formation from mass-loss on the Asymptotic Giant Branch. At the same time, high resolution imaging, especially with the Hubble Space Telescope, has revealed a surprising array of structures in the nebulae: multiple arcs, tori, jets, and myriads of small scale fragments. None of these are fully understood, and all involve the neutral gas component. This paper highlights recent observations of these structures and discusses the open questions, with an emphasis on those areas where observations with ALMA are likely to make important contributions.     

Planetary accretions in jet streams

The problem of planetary accretion in a jet stream is studied using the model developed by Alfvén and Arrhenius. We find that there are basically three types of planetary accretion: namely, fast process _c < _i , slow process _c ~ _i and delayed process _c > _i where _c is the characteristic time of the occurrence of catastrophic accretion and _i the time-scale of mass injection to the planetary system (3×10⁸ yr). These different time scales of accretion are found to be closely related to the primordial thermal profiles and equatorial inclinations of the planets. Finally, Venus' retrograde rotational spin is shown to be a possible result of accretion process in a jet stream.     

Planetary spectra for anisotropic scattering

We examine here some of the effects on planetary spectra that would be produced by departures from isotropic scattering. The phase function $\text{}\text{?}\text{gw(1 + a}\text{cos}\text{θ)}$ is the simplest departure to handle analytically and the only phase function, other than the isotropic one, that can be incorporated into a Chandrasekhar first approximation. This approach has the advantage of illustrating effects resulting from anisotropies while retaining the simplicity that yields analytic solutions.The curve of growth is the sine qua non of planetary spectroscopy. Our discussion emphasizes the difficulties and importance of ascertaining curves of growth as functions of observing geometry. A plea is made to observers to analyze their empirical curves of growth, whenever it seems feasible, in terms of coefficients of $\text{(1?}\text{}\text{?}\text{gw)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ and $\text{(1?}\text{}\text{?}\text{gw)}$, which are the leading terms in radiative-transfer analysis.An algebraic solution to the two sets of anisotropic H functions is developed in the appendix. It is readily adaptable to programmable desk calculators and gives emergent intensities accurate to 0.3%, which is sufficient even for spectroscopic analysis.