The Science of the Solar System

Caltech

About this Course

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Learn about the science behind the current exploration of the solar system in this free class. Use principles from physics, chemistry, biology, and geology to understand the latest from Mars, comprehend the outer solar system, ponder planets outside our solar system, and search for habitability in our neighborhood and beyond. This course is generally taught at an advanced level assuming a prior knowledge of undergraduate math and physics, but the majority of the concepts and lectures can be understood without these prerequisites. The quizzes and final exam are designed to make you think critically about the material you have learned rather than to simply make you memorize facts. The class is expected to be challenging but rewarding.

Learner Career Outcomes

25%

got a tangible career benefit from this course

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Approx. 30 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Vietnamese, Korean, German, Russian, Turkish, English, Spanish, Chinese

Skills you will gain

Solar SystemsChemistryGeologyAstrobiology

Learner Career Outcomes

25%

got a tangible career benefit from this course

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Approx. 30 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, Vietnamese, Korean, German, Russian, Turkish, English, Spanish, Chinese

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.96/5 (81 Ratings)

Mike Brown
Top Instructor

Professor

Planetary Astronomy

52,756 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

Caltech

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering research and education institution, where extraordinary faculty and students seek answers to complex questions, discover new knowledge, lead innovation, and transform our future. Caltech's mission is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. We investigate the most challenging, fundamental problems in science and technology in a singularly collegial, interdisciplinary atmosphere, while educating outstanding students to become creative members of society.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(5,730 ratings)

Week

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Unit 1: Water on Mars (week 1)

3 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 133 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

11 videos

Introduction to Science of the Solar System9m

Lecture 1.01: Early views of Mars11m

Lecture 1.02: Mars has canals!13m

Lecture 1.03: Taking the temperature of Mars19m

Lecture 1.04: Mars DOES have water (in the atmosphere)! 10m

Lecture 1.05: Heating and composition of the polar caps18m

Lecture 1.06: Let's fly to Mars 9m

Lecture 1.07: The first missions to Mars 7m

Lecture 1.08: Water on earth 9m

Lecture 1.09: Mariner 9 -- Mars had FLOWING water!17m

Lecture 1.10: Viking and the start of modern Martian science6m

1 reading

Note on the next lecture10m

1 practice exercise

Quiz 130m

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Unit 1: Water on Mars (week 2)

3 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 142 min)

10 videos

Lecture 1.11: Craters and surface ages15m

Lecture 1.12: Outflow channels15m

Lecture 1.13:Valley Networks9m

Lecture 1.14: Climate cycles on Mars 16m

Lecture 1.15: Was early Mars warmer and wetter? 18m

Lecture 1.16: Atmospheric escape14m

Lecture 1.17 Martian topography15m

Lecture 1.18: Gamma ray spectroscopy and subsurface water14m

Lecture 1.19: Glaciers on Mars!10m

Lecture 1.20 Origin of low latitude ice 11m

1 practice exercise

Quiz 230m

Week

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Unit 1: Water on Mars (week 3)

3 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 141 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

10 videos

Lecture 1.21: Evolution of the interior18m

Lecture 1.22: Thermal spectroscopy and mineral identification14m

Lecture 1.23: Geology from the Opportunity rover 15m

Lecture 1.24: Geochemistry from the Opportunity rover 10m

Lecture 1.25: Introduction to guest lecturers 7m

Lecture 1.26: Mineralogy on Mars, Part 1 10m

Lecture 1.27: Mineralogy on Mars, Part 2 17m

Lecture 1.28: Results from the Curiosity Rover, Part 1 12m

lecture 1.29: Results from the Curiosity Rover, Part 2 18m

Lecture 1.30: Where was the water on Mars?16m

1 reading

Note on the next lectures10m

1 practice exercise

Quiz 330m

Week

Week 4

3 hours to complete

Unit 2: The insides of giant planets (week 1)

3 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 114 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

11 videos

Lecture 2.01: Introduction to Jupiter 8m

Lecture 2.02: Measuring density 14m

Lecture 2.03: Using density 7m

Lecture 2.04: Hydrostatic equilibrium 14m

Lecture 2.05: Hydrogen equation of state 12m

Lecture 2.06: Heat transport14m

Lecture 2.07: Theoretical internal structure 9m

Lecture 2.08: A core from gravity?6m

Lecture 2.09: Magnetic fields11m

Lecture 2.10: The upper atmosphere and the Galileo probe 7m

Lecture 2.11: Picture models 7m

1 reading

Note on the next section10m

1 practice exercise

Quiz 430m

Week

Week 5

3 hours to complete

Unit 2: The insides of giant planets (week 2)

3 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 140 min)

10 videos

Lecture 2.12: Planetesimal formation19m

Lecture 2.13: Core formation 15m

Lecture 2.14: Core-collapse vs. Disk instability 15m

Lecture 2.15: Saturn and the ice giants 12m

Lecture 2.16: Discovering hot Jupiters11m

Lecture 2.17: Densities of hot Jupiters 7m

Lecture 2.18: Inflating hot Jupiters12m

Lecture 2.19: Kepler and the sub-Neptunes 18m

Lecture 2.20: Exoplanet spectroscopy20m

Lecture 2.21: Juno and future exploration8m

1 practice exercise

Quiz 530m

Week

Week 6

3 hours to complete

Unit 3: Big questions from small bodies (week 1)

3 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 162 min)

12 videos

Lecture 3.01: Introduction to the small bodies16m

Lecture 3.02: The formation of small bodies16m

Lecture 3.03: The formation of terrestrial planets16m

Lecture 3.04: The surface density of the solar system11m

Lecture 3.05: An ode to comets5m

Lecture 3.06: The composition of comets13m

Lecture 3.07: Where do comets come from?10m

Lecture 3.08: The formation of the Oort cloud15m

Lecture 3.09: Meteorites and the beginning of the solar system11m

Lecture 3.10: Types of meteorites: Chondrites11m

Lecture 3.11: Types of meteorites: Achondrites13m

Lecture 3.12: Asteroids and meteorite delivery19m

1 practice exercise

Quiz 630m

Week

Week 7

3 hours to complete

Unit 3: Big questions from small bodies (week 2)

3 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 155 min)

9 videos

Lecture 3.13: Asteroid compositions10m

Lecture 3.14 : Pictures of asteroids15m

Lecture 3.15: Asteroid hazards24m

Lecture 3.16: The Kuiper belt20m

Lecture 3.17: Properties of dwarf planets25m

Lecture 3.18: Dynamical instabilities14m

Lecture 3.19:The Grand Tack16m

Lecture 3.20: Planet Nine20m

Lecture 3.21: A trip to the Subaru telescope8m

1 practice exercise

Quiz 730m

Week

Week 8

2 hours to complete

Unit 4: Life in the solar system (week 1)

2 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 108 min)

10 videos

Lecture 4.01: Introduction to life 10m

Lecture 4.02: Photosynthesis 8m

Lecture 4.03: Water 9m

Lecture 4.04: Alternative energy sources 11m

Lecture 4.05: History of life on Earth8m

Lecture 4.06: Mars -- The Viking experiement 9m

Lecture 4.07: Mars -- Microbial hitchhikers 8m

Lecture 4.08: Mars -- Methane?16m

Lecture 4.09: Mars -- Methane!!5m

Lecture 4.10: Mars -- a habitable environment18m

1 practice exercise

Quiz 830m

Week

Week 9

3 hours to complete

Unit 4: Life in the solar system and beyond (week 2)

3 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 134 min)

11 videos

Lecture 4.11: Oceans on Europa18m

Lecture 4.12: Energy on Europa13m

Lecture 4.13: Exploring Europa11m

Lecture 4.14: Enceladus12m

Lecture 4.15: Introduction to Titan12m

Lecture 4.16: Weird life on Titan8m

Lecture 4.17: Habitable zones 12m

Lecture 4.18: Detecting exo-life 11m

Lecture 4.19: Looking around M-dwarfs 10m

Lecture 4.20: A mission to find life in the solar system 15m

Lecture 4.21: All good things must come to an end 7m

1 practice exercise

Quiz 930m

Week

Week 10

2 hours to complete

Final exam

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 75 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

4 videos

Bonus: The formation of the moon8m

Bonus: What we used to think about Sedna (before we knew about Planet Nine!)16m

Bonus: Seasons on Titan17m

Bonus: Why Pluto had to die31m

1 reading

Bonus material10m

1 practice exercise

Final exam30m

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The Science of the Solar System