An Introduction to the Solar System
(Editors: McBride and Gilmour)

Chapter 1

Page 7, end of 1st paragraph of section 1.1.3. plane -> planet

Chapter 2

• Many terms should be in boldface type to indicate a definition in the book's glossary including: refractory and volatile in box 2.5; 'gravitational focusing' in box 2.6; siderophile on page 60.

Chapter 3

• Page 110. Eq. 3.2 is wrong! The drag coefficient C_d should be in the denominator and under the square root and, additionally, a numerical coefficient is missing. See Wikipedia for a correct equation that also handles non-spherical objects. Credit: Kevin Rathbun, 2022
• Page 111: The value 1.054 is way too exact. It certainly varies by more than 1 part in 1000 for different types of ash.

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

These next chapters are better than in the 2004 edition or, at least, improve on a second reading. One problem is that many complex ideas are introduced and then not fully applied to the planets. Also, organization is by objects, not by processes as in the earlier chapters. It would be better, for instance, to introduce the Hadley cells and the Coriolis effect and then discuss all applications on the terrestrial and giant planets. Same for cloud formation, magnetospheres, etc.
• Page 166: Figure 5.4 says temperatures in the exosphere while the text says average surface temperature. Exosphere temperatures are correct as you can see by noting that the temperatures for Earth and Venus in the plot are similar. Surface temperatures are used only for airless boddies like the Moon and Mercury.
• Page 167: The books states that the details of how information about atmosphere is obtain is less important than the information itself. The book then spends 9 full pages discussing these details. While the information presented is good, much of it could be trimmed or relegated to an appendix.
• Page 190: "Mesospheres of the planets" - Misleading. So far, only Earth is known to have a mesopshere.
• Page 191: While Mars and Venus do have far lower exospheric temperatures than Earth, this cannot be readily seen in Fig. 5.17 which cuts off at too low an altitiude.
• Page 176: In table 5.2, remember that CO₂ varies by ~30% seasonally. This means that all of the numbers here will vary seasonally.
• Page 178: In box 5.3, electrolysis needs to be defined. It means separating the ions in a bonded compound by passing an electric current through it.
• Page 180: In box 5.4, make an explicit link to mantle convection.
• Page 181: Fig 5.18 needs to state why this is important. In a) the gas parcel will continue to rise leading to convection. In b) the parcel will cease to rise and convection will not occur.
• Page 182, middle: Give effective temperatures for the Moon and Mercury and discuss.
• Page 191, Figure 5.17 does not show temperatures in the Thermosphere as claimed at the end of section 5.4.
• Page 195, Figure 5.33: this caption just duplicates nearby text. Explain how the sunlight is divided over a greater area near the poles.
• Page 197, middle: Discuss why low wind speeds (the doldrums) are predicted near the equator. Basically, moving slightly north or south from the equator changes wind velocities only very slightly (repeat calculation on page 196 for 0 to 5 degrees).
• Page 198 bottom: Explain in more detail what winds do in response to a thermal tide.
• Page 200 top: Define offshore and onshore breezes. Offshore means from blowing from land to sea. Then explain how this works.
• Page 201 top: In this circumstance, charged particles do not follow the spiral field lines. The charged particles move out radially, dragging the field lines with them. All physical motions are primarily radial, just as the water that leaves a spinning lawn sprinkler travels out radially.

Chapter 6

• Page 210: Core masses given for Jupiter in the text, while more in line with current thinking, differ from Fig. 6.2. New results from Juno should be included here.
• Page 208, Figure 6.4: the magnetic axis is not fixed with respect to the stars.
• Page 217: Box 6.2 doesn't answer the question of "how hydrogen can occur in the metallic form" raised at the top of the page. Explain why high pressures are necessary to form metallic hydrogen.
• Page 225, Box 6.3: Chemical equilibrium is not sufficiently well explained here. Specifically, it is not clear how Eq. 6.3 shows that most N₂ is converted to NH₃. Probably best to clarify by giving K as well as the predicted amounts of both nitrogen bearing species.
• Page 232: In Fig. 6.17, rotation on cylinders is not motivated at all. Why should we expect this? The Sun, whose rotation is better understood, doesn't behave this way.
• Page 246: Section 6.4.3 on magnetospheres is very thin. It should be combined with the Jupiter and Saturn section and discussed all at once. Even better, combine all of the magnetospheric material from Chapters 5 and 6 into one place.
• Page 247: Figure 40a for Uranus has the planet's magnetic field axis drawn incorrectly. For any viewing angle, the angle between the spin and magnetic axes should not exceed 60 degrees.

Chapter 7

• Page 256: equally important for tides on eccentrically-orbiting bodies, is that the size of the tide varies as the object moves closer and further from the central body.
• Page 273, bottom: Pluto has Carbon Monoxide ices, not Carbon Dioxide ices.
• Page 274, top: Update the status of New Horizons to successfully encountered 2014MU₆₉.

Chapter 8

• This chapter has sections 8.1, 8.2.1 through 8.2.11, and 8.3. It would make more sense to have additional subsections rather than so many subsubsections. One possible breakdown: 8.2 could contain all the text prior to the solar Nebula. 8.3: all subsections dealing with dust (8.2.3-8.2.5), etc.
• Page 321, Text and Figure 8.24. There are strong arguments against Phobos and Deimos being directly captured asteroids. They both orbit very close to the equatorial plane like satellites that form with their planets.
• Page 321: Hyperion is not an outer satellite of Saturn. It is not retrograde. It is also likely not a captured Centaur. Like Phobos and Deimos, Hyperion orbits prograde on a nearly equatorial orbit like satellites that form with their planets.

Chapter 9

• Page 340, middle: "of which more below" -> "of which we will say more below".

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