The Cassini spacecraft has been exploring Saturn and its moons since 2004 and it has helped us solve many of the planet's mysteries while generating a wealth of new questions. Cassini has observed the bizarre mountains of Iapetus, the geysers of Enceladus, the lakes of Titan, and the dynamic and evolving rings. On September 15, 2017, the spacecraft sent its final transmission to the Earth as it entered the atmosphere of Saturn, ending its historic 13-year mission. Written for a general audience, The Ringed Planet is a fascinating exploration of the Saturn system that places Saturn in the context of the solar system as a whole. The new edition will include discussion of the ring systems of Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and the newly discovered rings around small bodies in the outer solar system and also exoplanets, placing them in the context of what we've learned about ring systems from Saturn.
Key Features:
- Explores and explains the fundamental processes that shape not just the Saturn system, but planets and moons in general.
- Expanded to include newly-discovered rings of dwarf planets and small bodies in the outer solar system.
- Covers the only extraterrestrial lakes known in the solar system, geysers erupting from Enceladus's subsurface ocean, Earth-sized atmospheric storms, and mountains of particles within Saturn's rings.
- Provides outlook to future missions, including Uranus.
- Beautifully illustrated journey of discovery through the Saturn system.
