Not long ago, the Solar System was the only example of a planetary system - a star and the bodies orbiting it - that we knew. Now, we know thousands of planetary systems, and have even been able to observe planetary systems at the moment of their birth. This Very Short Introduction explores this new frontier, incorporating the latest research. The book takes the reader on a journey through the grand sweep of time, from the moment galaxies begin to form after the Big Bang to trillions of years in the future when the Universe will be a dilute soup of dim galaxies populated mostly by red dwarf stars. Throughout, Raymond T. Pierrehumbert introduces the latest insights gained from a new generation of telescopes that catch planetary systems at the moment of formation, and to the theoretical advances that attempt to make sense of these observations. He explains how the elements that make up life and the planets on which life can live are forged in the interiors of dying stars, and make their way into rocky planets. He also explores the vast array of newly discovered planets orbiting stars other than our own, and explains the factors that determine their climates. Finally, he reveals what determines how long planetary systems can live, and what happens in their end-times. Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications NONLINEAR PHENOMENA IN ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC SCIENCES is based on the proceedings of a workshop which was an integral part of the 1989-90 IMA program on "Dynamical Systems and their Applications". The aim of this workshop was to promote cross-fertilization of ideas between investigators who are using nonlinear dynamical systems and numerical simulations to study the earth's atmosphere and oceans. We thank George F. Carnevale, Shui-Nee Chow, Martin Golubitsky, Richard McGehee, Raymond Pierrehumbert and George R. Sell for organizing the meeting. We especially thank George F. Carnevale and Raymond Pierrehumbert for editing the proceedings. We also take this opportunity to thank those agencies whose financial support made the workshop possible: the Army Research Office, the Minnesota Supercom puter Institute, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research. A vner Friedman Willard Miller, Jr. PREFACE When we took on this project, we did not realize we were organizing a workshop on two-dimensional fluid dynamics. The participants who were invited had been working on a broad range of mathematically challenging problems related to atmo spheric and oceanic phenomena, and they were given carte blanche to talk about their current interests. With few exceptions, the favored subject involved one or another aspect of fluid flow in two dimensions.

This book introduces the reader to all the basic physical building blocks of climate needed to understand the present and past climate of Earth, the climates of Solar System planets, and the climates of extrasolar planets. These building blocks include thermodynamics, infrared radiative transfer, scattering, surface heat transfer and various processes governing the evolution of atmospheric composition. Nearly four hundred problems are supplied to help consolidate the reader's understanding, and to lead the reader towards original research on planetary climate. This textbook is invaluable for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students in atmospheric science, Earth and planetary science, astrobiology, and physics. It also provides a superb reference text for researchers in these subjects, and is very suitable for academic researchers trained in physics or chemistry who wish to rapidly gain enough background to participate in the excitement of the new research opportunities opening in planetary climate.