How the Solar System and other planetary systems evolve

This book explores how planetary systems form and change, with most of its discussion focused on the Solar System. It covers the formation of planets and the Earth-Moon system, shifting orbits, asteroid and icy-body belts, and the movement of dust. It also considers selected exoplanet systems and ways to search for planets beyond our own.

Star system: Alpha Centauri | Distance from the Sun: 4.4 light years

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How the Solar System and other planetary systems evolve

Star system: Alpha Centauri | Distance from the Sun: 4.4 light years

The book examines how planetary systems form and evolve, focusing mainly on the Solar System. It follows the process from the collapse of the cloud that formed the Sun to the growth of planets. It also considers how the Earth and Moon formed together, how pairs of distant icy bodies developed, and how planets acquired their axial rotations - the spins that set the length of their days.

The discussion traces changes in the paths of planets and smaller bodies over time. It covers resonant orbits, where bodies repeatedly line up in a regular pattern, and the Kirkwood gaps, regions in the asteroid belt with relatively few asteroids. It also addresses how icy objects from beyond the ice line, where water can freeze, may travel toward the inner planets. The book discusses asteroid impacts and the craters they leave on the Moon, as well as the Deep Impact mission, which sent a spacecraft module into comet Tempel 1.

Other topics include dust moving through the Solar System and forming the zodiacal belt, a band of dust seen along the plane of the planets. The book also examines the movement of bodies and dust ejected from Earth, other terrestrial planets, and the Moon. Beyond the Solar System, it discusses body migration in the Proxima Centauri, TRAPPIST-1, and Gliese 581 systems. It considers how the spectra, or patterns of light, of Earth-like exoplanets may vary with their rotation periods, and how microlensing observations can help find exoplanets. Microlensing detects a planet through the way its gravity affects light from a more distant star. The submitted files contain both Russian and English versions of the book.

Key findings
The book covers Solar System formation, from the collapse of the presolar cloud to the accumulation of planets.
It examines the formation of the Earth-Moon system, asteroid and trans-Neptunian belts, and gaps in the asteroid belt.
It discusses the migration of icy bodies, dust, and other objects, along with impacts such as the Deep Impact collision with comet Tempel 1.
It considers migration in three named exoplanet systems, the spectra of Earth-like planets with different rotation periods, and microlensing as a planet-search method.

Scientific study

Formation and evolution of planetary systems