Planetary Science is a field of astronomy that studies planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. It focuses on the formation and evolution of the Solar System, its structure and dynamics, the origin of life on Earth, and the search for extraterrestrial life. Planetary scientists study both physical characteristics (such as size, shape, composition) and chemical processes (such as climate change) that occur in our solar system.The first major breakthrough in Planetary Science was made by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543 when he proposed a heliocentric theory that placed the Sun at the center of our solar system instead of Earth. This discovery revolutionized astronomers’ view of our universe and allowed them to begin to understand planetary motion around other stars. Since then advances in technology have enabled scientists to explore further into space than ever before. With powerful telescopes like Hubble Space Telescope we now have incredible detail about planets orbiting other stars as well as distant galaxies millions of light years away from Earth. Planetary science has also become increasingly important due to advancements in space exploration capabilities with robotic probes like Voyager 1 & 2 providing us with valuable insights about planets such as Mars which could potentially harbor life or be suitable for human colonization. Additionally many space missions are being developed to look for exoplanets which are planets outside our solar system that may host life or habitable conditions for humans making this field even more important going forward.Overall Planetary Science is an incredibly diverse field encompassing a wide range of topics from cosmology to astrobiology while giving us an opportunity to explore beyond our own planet and search for answers surrounding its creation and evolution over time.
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