Atmospheric Chemistry: Planets and Life Beyond Earth

Discover the extraordinary world of atmospheric chemistry.

On this course you will learn about planetary atmospheres across our solar system and beyond. You will discover what an atmosphere is, how it’s formed, and how data collected from space missions is used to determine a planet’s atmosphere.

You’ll also look into the factors needed to support life, explore the possibility of life beyond Earth and start the search for habitable planets. You’ll understand how atmospheric chemistry is communicated in the media and get a flavour of one of the most fascinating subjects explored during an undergraduate degree in Chemistry.

The course is for anyone with a general interest in atmospheric chemistry but it will be particularly useful for students at schools and colleges who want to study chemistry at university. The course is part of the Going to University collection and completing it can help improve your university application by broadening your chemistry knowledge and developing your independent learning skills. The course can also be used as a teachers’ classroom enrichment resource.

• Exploring planets in our solar system
• Welcome
• Atmospheres of planets in our solar system
• Active and Passive exploration missions
• Cassini-Huygens Case Study
• Summary
• The search for life on other planets
• About Week 2
• Factors needed to support life
• The search for life beyond the solar system
• Hold the front page
• Summary