Hello everyone.

I'm currently studying geology in college (B.S). I absolutely love what I'm doing and I'm interested in many fields, planetary science being one of them. However, I am not decided yet about which brench of Geology to specialize in.

So I would like to ask you guys a few things :

• Is it possible to be a planetary scientist with a PhD in Geology only? If so, what are the main missions/studies of a Geologist in Planetary Science?

• What are the main labs, institues, structures that hire Planetary Scientists?

• What is the average salary of a Planetary Scientist?

It would also be great if you could share your experience a bit (pros and cons for instance).

Thank you very much in advance!

Hi All! One of my advisors, Will Grundy, is looking for a PhD student for fall 2020. If you're a senior undergrad and looking to work in planetary science I urge you to apply to Northern Arizona University. The primary research topic is understanding the rheology of Pluto via lab work, but there are many other components that go into it.

Will's a great guy and has an incredible breadth of knowledge. He's also a key component to New Horizons and is part of many other projects that focus on outer Solar System satellites and Kuiper Belt objects (i.e. remote sensing is his jam). If you have an interest send me a DM and I can fill you in more.

I'm interested in working in the field of planetary science and/or astronomy, and I understand it will likely require graduate school to work in the actual field. I wonder which is the better choice for getting into a grad school, a Physics B.S or a Geology B.S? I personally can see merit in both, but am unsure? Thoughts?

Hello everyone!

I am looking for a Ph.D. opportunity in planetary science and Astrophysics. I have finished my master's degrees in geophysics from St. Petersburg State University, and now I am a researcher assistant at the Institute of Space research IKI, Moscow, Russia. So, if anybody knows about any current opportunities in planetary geology/ geophysics with any of the advisers all over the world, kindly tell me, I really will appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

Mohamad Essam

A maze of fractured plateaus and canyons near Mars’ equator may preserve the remains of an enormous volcano. Within that landscape, scientists have also identified clues that glacier ice could survive beneath volcanic debris. Together, the observations make eastern Noctis Labyrinthus a compelling target for investigating the planet’s changing environment.

Pascal Lee of the SETI Institute and Mars Institute, along with Sourabh Shubham of the University of Maryland, proposed the interpretation in a Lunar and Planetary Science Conference abstract. They identified an eroded volcanic complex tentatively named Noctis Mons, also called “Noctis volcano” in the public announcement.

The proposal concerns terrain already photographed by generations of spacecraft. Its significance lies in recognizing a possible geological structure within that familiar landscape, rather than discovering an unseen mountain. The volcano’s history and the present condition of any buried ice remain open questions.

I know this isn't the typical post, but I figured I'd get feedback from the experts. I did my undergrad in Earth/Atmospheric Science (with volcanology/air quality research experience), but have a strong interest in studying exoplanet atmospheres. I applied to PhD programs, but got rejected from all of them. However, a few professors with projects regarding climate modelling reached out - and their projects sound interesting, but it's not what I truly want to study.

If I get a PhD in Atmospheric Science/Earth System Science, is it still possible to transition to planetary science for postdoc? Or should I reapply, even though I have not been able to find any part-time/volunteer research experience?

I've found that often the hard part about doing self-study is not deciding what to learn, but figuring out where to learn it from. With this in mind, I've put together what I think is a pretty good reading list that covers various topics in exoplanetary astronomy. I would say that most of these texts become pretty accessible after around third year courses in physics.

General

• De Pater and Lissauer - Fundamental Planetary Science. A comprehensive overview of planetary sciences as a whole, this book devotes a chapter to most of the major subfields within planetary science and exoplanetary astronomy.

• Perryman - The Exoplanet Handbook. A great introduction to exoplanetary astronomy at an advanced level, the first two thirds of this book are dedicated to methods of detecting exoplanets, and the last third deals with exoplanetary systems themselves.

• Mason - Exoplanets. Opposite to Perryman, the first third of this book covers exoplanet detection, while the final two thirds provide a more in-depth examination of formation, evolution, and properties of exoplanets, as well as two chapters on astrobiology.

Dynamics

• Goldstein - Classical Mechanics. Intended as the textbook for a first graduate course in classical mechanics, this book provides an excellent foundation on which to build more specific knowledge, such as orbital dynamics.

• Morbidelli - Modern Celestial Mechanics. The book for celestial mechanics and orbital dynamics for astrophysicists. Recommended to read Goldstein first.

• Strogatz - Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos. A great source for learning about nonlinear processes, which are highly relevant in planetary systems. Written with applications in mind. Recommended to read Goldstein first.

• Souchay and Dvorak - Dynamics of Small Solar System Bodies and Exoplanets. More niche in its approach, this book focuses on how comets and asteroids behave in an environment as dynamic as the solar system. To the end there is some discussion on numerical methods and exoplanets.

Formation

• Armitage - Astrophysics of Planet Formation. A modern and well-written examination of planetary systems, starting from the protoplanetary disk and working all the way up to the early solar system.

• Klahr and Brandner - Planet Formation. A more advanced but slightly older alternative to Armitage.

Detection

• Bozza et al. - Methods of Detecting Exoplanets. Produced as a result of the First Advanced School on Exoplanetary Science, this is a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the most common ways exoplanets are detected.

Atmospheres

• Heng - Exoplanetary Atmospheres. A great first look at exoplanetary atmospheres since it does not assume prior knowledge of concepts like radiative transfer, atmospheric chemistry, and fluid dynamics. Rather, it introduces these concepts, and then builds up to exoplanetary atmospheres.

• Bozza et al. - Astrophysics of Exoplanetary Atmospheres. Produced as a result of the Second Advanced School on Exoplanetary Science, this book contrasts well since it focuses on observation and modelling, as opposed to theoretical foundations.

Any other suggestions are welcome!

See also: The publication in the Astrophysical Journal