Dan Bortolotti

Exploring Saturn Dan Bortolotti

An illustrated preview to the Cassini-Huygens mission arriving at Saturn in 2004.

Exploring Saturn is a lively, informative way for students to fully appreciate and understand the Cassini orbiter's historic rendezvous with the ringed planet in 2004. It features Cassini's 4-year mission details including the breakaway Huygens probe that will plummet to Saturn's largest moon, Titan -- the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere. The data gathered from the Cassini-Huygens mission will help scientists to unravel Saturn's many mysteries, answer questions about Earth's formation, and investigate the possibility of life on other planets.

Exploring Saturn tells the remarkable story of discovering Saturn and its moons. Ancient astronomers estimated with surprising accuracy the distance, weight, and composition of Saturn using little more than observation and elementary physics. The book includes the latest findings from NASA as well as stunning color images from the Hubble Space Telescope, Voyager and Pioneer probes.

Included are practical website resources and a six-year schedule and location guide for backyard observations of the planet. The informative text is lively and conversational-easily accessible by students and amateur astronomers.