Series on Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics - Vol. 1
TITAN
The Earth-Like Moon
by Athena Coustenis (Observatoire de Paris) & Fred Taylor (University of Oxford)
This is the first book to deal with Titan, one of the most mysterious bodies in the solar system. The largest satellite of the giant planet Saturn, Titan is itself larger than the planet Mercury, and is unique in being the only known moon with a thick atmosphere. In addition, its atmosphere bears a startling resemblance to the Earth's, but is much colder.
The American and European space agencies, NASA and ESA, have recently combined efforts to send a huge robot spacecraft to orbit Saturn and land on Titan. This book provides the background to this, the greatest deep space venture of our time, and sets the scene for what may be found when the spacecraft arrives in 2004.
Contents:
- Observations of Titan
- Atmospheric Physics and Thermal
Structure
- Chemistry and Composition
- Aerosols and Condensates
- Atmospheric Dynamics and Meteorology
- The Surface and Interior of Titan
- Titan in the Solar System
- Cassini and Huygens: Orbiting Saturn and Landing on Titan
Readership: General readers interested in astronomy.
"The book is copiously illustrated with monochrome diagrams and there is a skilfully selected section of colour plates ... Coustenis and Taylor have provided a useful summary of our knowledge of Titan prior to the Cassini/Huygens mission ..."
| Popular Astronomy, Jan 2002 |
| 344pp |
Pub. date: Oct 1999 |
|
