Titan from Cassini-Huygens

ISBN-13: 9789401781077 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 535 str.

Robert Brown; Jean Pierre Lebreton; Jack Waite

Opis

This book is one of two volumes meant to capture, to the extent practical, the sci- ti? c legacy of the Cassini Huygens prime mission, a landmark in the history of pl- etary exploration. As the most ambitious and interdisciplinary planetary exploration mission ? own to date, it has extended our knowledge of the Saturn system to levels of detail at least an order of magnitude beyond that gained from all previous missions to Saturn. Nestled in the brilliant light of the ne w and deep understanding of the Saturn pl- etary system is the shiny nugget that is the spectacularly successful collaboration of individuals, organizations and governments in the achievement of Cassini Huygens. In some ways the partnerships formed and lessons learned may be the most enduring legacy of Cassini Huygens. The broad, international coalition that is Cassini Huygens is now conducting the Cassini Equinox Mission and planning the Cassini Solstice Mission, and in a major expansion of those fruitful efforts, has extended the collaboration to the study of new ? agship missions to both Jupiter and Saturn. Such ventures have and will continue to enrich us all, and evoke a very optimistic vision of the future of international collaboration in planetary exploration."

Recenzje

From the reviews:

"The chapters, written by experts in the field, progress from an overview of what was known about Titan prior to this space mission to an in-depth look at Titan's formation ... . Each chapter is well illustrated, and the use of color photos is a significant asset. ... the overall book is compelling and comprehensive. This very detailed compendium will likely become a primary source for Titan and a must have for any planetary scientist professional. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." (R. A. Kolvoord, Choice, Vol. 47 (10), June, 2010)

"This book could be used in a variety of ways as the overview at the beginning of the book describes the main results for Titan ... . has an excellent flow and is written in 'plain' English with many colour illustrations ... . should be on the shelf of any Titan enthusiast who is looking for a book that brings together the majority of knowledge about Titan to date." (Lucy Norman, Astrobiology Society of Britain, February, 2010)

Spis treści

Preface.- Chapter 1 Overview.- Chapter 2 Earth-based Perspective and pre-Cassini-Huygens Knowledge of Titan.- Chapter 3 The Origin and Evolution of Titan.- Chapter 4 Titan’s Interior structure.- Chapter 5 Geology and Surface Processes on Titan.- Chapter 6 Composition of Titan’s Surface.- Chapter 7 Volatile Origin and Cycles: Nitrogen and Methane.- Chapter 8 High-altitude Production of Titan’s Aerosols.- Chapter 9 Titan’s Astrobiology.- Chapter 10 Atmospheric Composition and Structure.- Chapter 11 Composition and Structure of the Ionosphere and Thermosphere.- Chapter 12 Aerosols in Titan’s Atmosphere.- Chapter 13 Atmospheric Dynamics and Meteorology.- Chapter 14 Seasonal Change on Titan.- Chapter 15 Mass loss processes in Titan’s Upper Atmosphere.- Chapter 16 Energy Deposition Processes in Titan’s Upper Atmosphere and Its Induced Magnetosphere.- Chapter 17 Titan in the Cassini-Huygens Extended Mission.- Chapter 18 Titan Beyond Cassini-Huygens.- Chapter 19 Mapping Products of Titan’s Surface.- Appendix.

O autorze

Robert Brown, of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona, Tucson, USA, is the Team Leader for Cassini's Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). Dr. Brown is  Professor of Planetary Sciences. His research interests center on observational, theoretical, and laboratory studies of planetary surfaces and surface processes. Of particular interest in his research are Titan and the rest of Saturn's icy moons.

Jean-Pierre Lebreton is the ESA Project Scientist and Mission Manager for the Huygens mission. His particular speciality is planetary science, studying plasma physics.
Dr. Lebreton is also in the ESA team working on the Rosetta mission and, in particular, he is involved with the Plasma Consortium Experiment. He led the divisional activities on the Tethered Satellite System.

Jack Hunter Waite is a planetary scientist specializing in the application of mass spectrometry to the study of solar system biogeochemistry and aeronomy. He is involved in research projects in ion/neutral mass spectrometry, gas chromatography, biogeochemistry, thermospheric modeling, and planetary astronomy. Dr. Waite is the Team Leader for the Cassini Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer investigation, co-investigator and lead SwRI hardware manager for the Rosetta/Rosina Reflectron Time-of-Flight, principal investigator for the development of a Jupiter Thermosphere-Ionosphere General Circulation Model, a co-investigator in planetary observing programs with Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Chandra, and the Canada France Hawaii Telescope and leads a major effort for the development of analytical techniques for use in the study of planetary biogeochemistry funded by NASA JPL and the NASA ASTID programs.

Blurb

This book reviews our current knowledge of Saturn's largest moon Titan featuring the latest results obtained by the Cassini-Huygens mission. A global author team addresses Titan’s origin and evolution, internal structure, surface geology, the atmosphere and ionosphere as well as magnetospheric interactions. The book closes with an outlook beyond the Cassini-Huygens mission. Colorfully illustrated, this book will serve as a reference to researchers as well as an introduction for students.