Mission to Saturn

COOL UNIVERSE TRANSMIT
Science, Nature, Astronomy & Space

Mission to Saturn: Cassini and the Huygens Probe
By David M. Harland
Springer-Praxis Books
Softcover, 290 pages

Get ready for new discoveries

Though saddened by the planned demise of the Galileo spacecraft after its successful mission at Jupiter, recent confirmation of radar evidence for hydrocarbon seas on Titan, elevated my excitement level and reminded me the the last of the great, solar system exploratory ventures is to yet to begin with the arrival of the Cassini spacecraft at the Saturn system. There can't be a better way to prepare yourself for than reading 'space historian' David M. Harland's latest book, however, I must warn that this may be more technical than the casual reader will care to tackle. That said, there are rich rewards for those so motivated.

Harland recounts the study of Saturn from initial naked eye observations, through the evolution of the telescope, to results from the Pioneer and Voyager probes. The narrative includes the work of many scientists who have contributed to our modern understanding of the planet and its beautiful, but maddeningly confusing ring system. We learn that in the mid-nineteenth century O. W. Struve observed 'shrinkage" of the edge of the 'B' ring, that E. M. Antoniadi first saw radial markings in the 'A' ring in 1896, that Percival Lowell and E.C. Slipher recorded 10 ring divisions in 1915 and that B. F. Lyot in 1943 measured fine detail of ring structure, a view that was not accepted fact until the Voyager missions proved it.

The mysteries of Titan are as strongly featured throughout. G.P. Kuiper in 1943 collected evidence confirming that alone among all the known satellites, Titan possessed an atmosphere. In recent years, we've had evidence for precipitation and most recently radar reports to support the existence of liquid hydrocarbons on the surface of the shrouded little world. What new wonders the Huygens probe will reveal we can only imagine...until next year or so.

Mission to Saturn is lavish with photos and illustrations that include Galileo's 1610 hand drawings, observatory photographs of Saturn, maps of the major satellites, images taken of Jupiter by Cassini, and details of the craft and its instrumentation. Other useful features include a ready reference section for Saturn system data, a four page listing of 'Suggested reading,' a fine index and chapter notes for detail oriented readers.

Author, David M. Harland, based in the UK and has written similar books, most notably, Jupiter Odyssey: The Story of NASA's Galileo Mission.

--. -- CM Roane

Mission to Saturn: Cassini and the Huygens Probe
David M. Harland
2002
ISBN 1-85233-656-0
Springer-Praxis Books in Astronomy and Space Sciences.
www.springer-ny.com