Related papers: Methane clathrates in the Solar System
Benzene (c-C6H6) formation in the inner 3 AU of a protostellar disk can be efficient, resulting in high abundances of benzene in the midplane region. The formation mechanism is different to that found in interstellar clouds and in…
The climate of early Mars remains a topic of intense debate. Ancient terrains preserve landscapes consistent with stream channels, lake basins, and possibly even oceans, and thus the presence of liquid water flowing on the Martian surface 4…
Carbon is an essential element for a habitable world. Inner (r < 3 au) disk planetary carbon compositions are strongly influenced by supply and survival of carbonaceous solids. Here we trace the journey of carbon from the interstellar…
Interstellar hydrides -- that is, molecules containing a single heavy element atom with one or more hydrogen atoms -- were among the first molecules detected outside the solar system. They lie at the root of interstellar chemistry, being…
During the formation of stars, the accretion of the surrounding material toward the central object is thought to undergo strong luminosity outbursts, followed by long periods of relative quiescence, even at the early stages of star…
According to clues left by the Cassini mission, Titan, one of the two Solar System bodies with a hydrologic cycle, may harbor liquid hydrocarbon-based analogs of our terrestrial aquifers, referred to as "alkanofers". On the Earth, petroleum…
Our Sun, like all stars, formed within a cold molecular cloud. Astronomical observations and theory provide considerable detail into this process. Yet cosmochemical observations of short lived radionuclides in primitive meteorites, in…
We examine the possibility that icy super-Earth mass planets, formed over long time scales (0.1--1~Gyr) at large distances ($\sim$ 200--1000~AU) from their host stars, will develop massive H-rich atmospheres. Within the interior of these…
Only three processes, operant during the formation of the Solar System, are responsible for the diversity of matter in the Solar System and are directly responsible for planetary internal-structures, including planetocentric nuclear fission…
In this review we discuss all the relevant solar/stellar radiation and plasma parameters and processes that act together in the formation and modification of atmospheres and exospheres that consist of surface-related minerals. Magma ocean…
The Solar System formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a condensation of matter inside a molecular cloud. Trying to reconstruct what happened is the goal of this chapter. For that, we put together our understanding of Galactic objects…
HI observations have revealed in several shell galaxies the presence of gaseous shells slightly displaced from the stellar shells radially, in the outward direction. We propose a mechanism to form this gaseous shells, based on the…
The composition of an atmosphere has integrated the geological history of the entire planetary body. However, the long-term evolutions of the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets are not well documented. For Earth, there were until…
Uranus and Neptune are the archetypes of "ice giants", a class of planets that may be among the most common in the Galaxy. They hold the keys to understand the atmospheric dynamics and structure of planets with hydrogen atmospheres inside…
Uranus and Neptune have atmospheres dominated by molecular hydrogen and helium. In the upper troposphere, methane is the third main molecule and condenses, yielding a vertical gradient in CH4. This condensable species being heavier than H2…
An outstanding question of astrobiology is the link between the chemical composition of planets, comets, and other solar system bodies and the molecules formed in the interstellar medium. Understanding the chemical and physical evolution of…
It has been suggested that shock waves in the solar nebula formed the high temperature materials observed in meteorites and comets. It is shown that the temperatures at the inner rim of the solar nebula could have been high enough over a…
Terrestrial planets are thought to experience episode(s) of large-scale melting early in their history. Fractionation during magma-ocean freezing leads to unstable stratification within the related cumulate layers due to progressive iron…
We review the progress made in understanding molecular cloud formation and evolution toward star formation since the first Crete conference in 1990. It now seems clear that molecular clouds in the Galaxy at least form from compressed HI…
Satellites of giant planets thought to form in gaseous circumplanetary disks (CPDs) during the late planet-formation phase, but it was unknown so far whether smaller mass planets, such as the ice giants could form such disks, thus moons…