Course description:
The diversity of our solar system is incredible. The more we explore, the more we realise that no two planets are alike. But we can't hike around and hammer rocks on Venus or Titan, so we infer composition, form, texture and process from remotely-captured images and sparse chemical and spectral data. This leaves plenty of room for interpretation and hypothesising about geological processes. Through reading recent research papers we will examine a number of topics, including the possible Late Heavy Bombardment of the moon, tectonics on Venus, water on Mars, hidden oceans on Europa, and the methane weather cycle on Titan.
Evaluation will be based on six 2500-word papers, discussion, and critical analysis. There will be a strong focus on polished writing and argument. Papers will be thoroughly edited for style, grammar, syntax, structure and effectiveness. Students will improve their writing by integrating into successive papers the editorial comments they receive, and also by editing the writing of their tutorial partners.
