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In planetary science
Planetary science

Planetary science, also known as planetology and closely related to planetary astronomy, is the science of planets, or planetary systems, and the solar system....
, volatiles, are that group of elements and compounds with low boiling points (see volatile
Volatility (chemistry)

Volatility in the context of chemistry, physics and thermodynamics is a measure of the tendency of a substance to vaporize. It has also been defined as a measure of how readily a substance vaporizes....
) that are associated with a planet's or moon's crust and/or atmosphere. Examples include nitrogen
Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674?. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere....
, water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
, carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalent bond to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state....
, ammonia
Ammonia

Ammonia is a chemical compound with the chemical formula nitrogenhydrogen. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor....
, hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
 and methane
Methane

Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees....
, all compounds of C, H, O and/or N, as well as sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide

Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula SO2. It is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide....
. In astrogeology, these compounds, in their solid state, often comprise large proportions of the crusts of moons and dwarf planet
Dwarf planet

A dwarf planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union , is a celestial body orbiting the Sun that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity but has not Clearing the neighbourhood of planetesimals and is not a natural satellite....
s. In terrestrial geology, the term more specifically refers to components of magma
Magma

Magma is molten Rock that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and may also exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and gas bubbles....
 (mostly water vapor
Water vapor

Water vapor or water vapour , also aqueous vapor, is the gas phase of water . Water vapor is one Phase of the water cycle within the hydrosphere....
 and carbon dioxide) that affect the appearance and strength of volcanoes.






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In planetary science
Planetary science

Planetary science, also known as planetology and closely related to planetary astronomy, is the science of planets, or planetary systems, and the solar system....
, volatiles, are that group of elements and compounds with low boiling points (see volatile
Volatility (chemistry)

Volatility in the context of chemistry, physics and thermodynamics is a measure of the tendency of a substance to vaporize. It has also been defined as a measure of how readily a substance vaporizes....
) that are associated with a planet's or moon's crust and/or atmosphere. Examples include nitrogen
Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674?. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere....
, water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
, carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalent bond to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state....
, ammonia
Ammonia

Ammonia is a chemical compound with the chemical formula nitrogenhydrogen. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor....
, hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
 and methane
Methane

Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees....
, all compounds of C, H, O and/or N, as well as sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide

Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula SO2. It is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide....
. In astrogeology, these compounds, in their solid state, often comprise large proportions of the crusts of moons and dwarf planet
Dwarf planet

A dwarf planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union , is a celestial body orbiting the Sun that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity but has not Clearing the neighbourhood of planetesimals and is not a natural satellite....
s. In terrestrial geology, the term more specifically refers to components of magma
Magma

Magma is molten Rock that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and may also exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and gas bubbles....
 (mostly water vapor
Water vapor

Water vapor or water vapour , also aqueous vapor, is the gas phase of water . Water vapor is one Phase of the water cycle within the hydrosphere....
 and carbon dioxide) that affect the appearance and strength of volcanoes. Volatiles affect the viscosity of the magma, and the tendency to explosive eruptions.

Planetary scientists often class volatiles with exceptionally low melting points, such as hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
 and helium
Helium

Helium is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert monatomic chemical element that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table and whose atomic number is 2....
, as gases (as in gas giant
Gas giant

A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of Rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in our Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune....
), while those volatiles with melting points above about 100 K are referred to as ices. The terms "gas" and "ice" in this context can apply to compounds that may be solids, liquids or gases. Thus, Jupiter
Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the Solar system by size planet within the Solar System. It is two and a half times as massive as all of the other planets in our Solar System combined....
 and Saturn
Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn, along with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, is classified as a gas giant....
 are referred to as "gas giants" even though the vast majority of the "gas" in their interiors is liquid, and Uranus
Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third-largest and fourth most massive planet in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus the father of Kronos and grandfather of Zeus ....
 and Neptune
NEPTUNE

=Overview=The project, along with sister project, VENUS, offers a unique approach to ocean science. Traditionally, ocean scientists have relied on infrequent ship cruises or space-based satellites to carry out their research....
 are called "ice giants" despite the fact that neither planet contains more than trace amounts of solid ice.

The Earth's Moon
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth....
 is considered very low in volatiles: its crust contains oxygen chemically bound into the rocks (as eg silicates), but negligible amounts of hydrogen, nitrogen or carbon.

In contrast, those elements with high boiling points are known as refractory
Refractory

A refractory material is one that retains its strength at high temperatures. ASTM International C71 defines refractories as "non-metallic materials having those chemical and physical properties that made them applicable for structures, or as components of systems, that are exposed to environments above 1000 ?F "....
 elements.

External links

  • of planetary astronomy terms
  • of Costa Rican volcanoes.
  • Planetary Science Research Discoveries