Titan Unveiled: Saturn's Mysterious Moon Explored (Hardcover)

by Ralph Lorenz (Author), Jacqueline Mitton (Author) "On July 1, 2004, the Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn after a journey from Earth lasting almost seven years..." (more)
Key Phrases: radar swath, polar hood, radar team, University of Arizona, Space Science Institute, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Saturn’s moon Titan, presently being explored by the spacecraft Cassini, has astonishing similarities to Earth—a thick atmosphere, weather, seasons, rivers, and lakes. And defying the demystification that comes with discovery, Titan’s allure seems only to increase the more scientists learn about it. From a historical baseline of pre-Cassini knowledge, the authors outline questions this spacecraft was designed to answer, prime among them, the appearance and nature of Titan’s surface. Obscured by haze, the landscape has been exposed by radar, special optical cameras, and the Huygens lander. The authors cover in detail the information gathered by these and other instruments, which impart a practical sense of how scientists work from raw data toward finished interpretations. A concrete example is data collected by coauthor Lorenz’s impact probe, which hints that Titan’s surface is like wet sand—but instead of water as on Earth, the liquid is methane. Including amazing photographs of Titan’s evident geological dynamism, Lorenz and Mitton’s work has a high “wow” factor that will thrill buffs and may spur students toward a planetary science career. --Gilbert Taylor

Review
Titan Unveiled describes how most of what we once hypothesized about Titan has been proved wrong. The story of how we gained our current knowledge is fascinating; even more intriguing is what remains to be learned.
(Henry Roe Nature )

Ralph Lorenz . . . has teamed with veteran science journalist Jaqueline Mitton to convey both the human and scientific drama of remote robotic space exploration.
(Laurence A. Marschall Natural History )

Lorenz, a planetary scientist, and Mitton, a science writer, vividly describe this encounter with an alien landscape; excerpts from Lorenz's log convey what it was like to be involved with the mission.
(Scientific American )

[A]n engrossing firsthand account of one of humankind's greatest adventures of recent years. It will take decades to prepare a new mission and then an additional seven years for another spacecraft to reach titan. In the meantime, Titan Unveiled provides the general reader with a lively narrative that combines a reliable, nontechnical account of the Cassini-Huygens mission with personal and often intimate insights into these efforts to explore a fascinating planetary analogue to the Earth.
(Fred Taylor American Scientist )

[A]n enjoyable mix: a very accessible summary of current knowledge about Titan is combined with a firsthand account that gives a flavour of what it has been like to be part of this grand, bold, international collaboration that is the Cassini-Huygens project.
(Times Higher Education )

Titan's allure seems only to increase the more scientists learn about it...Obscured by haze, the landscape has been exposed by radar, special optical cameras, and the Huygens lander. The authors cover in detail the information gathered by these and other instruments, which impart a practical sense of how scientists work from raw data toward finished interpretations...Including amazing photographs of Titan's evident geological dynamism, Lorenz and Mitton's work has a high 'wow' factor that will thrill buffs and may spur students toward a planetary science career.
(Gilbert Taylor Booklist )

An insider's look behind the headlines, focusing on the thought processes and instrumentation tricks involved. Lorenz's bloglike entries liven up the prose, but the star is Titan.
(Richard Lovett New Scientist )

If you thought a virtual world like Second Life was a smorgasbord of experimental gender swaps, nerd types engaging in kinky sex or entrepreneurs cashing in on real world money making possibilities, think again. . . .Could Boellstorff be right that we¹re all virtual humans anyway, viewing the world as we do through the prism of culture?
(New Scientist )

This fantastic book shines a light on the truth of the matter: that science is about a sense of wonder, awe, the joy of finding stuff.
(Nature Geoscience )

Lorenz, the author of this popular account of Titan, is intimately involved in the Cassini-Huygens mission as a planetary scientist, and he contributes personal anecdotes as well as a thorough treatment of the science and technology of missions to Saturn and its moons.
(M. Dickinson Choice )

A fascinating read.
(David Tytell Sky & Telescope )

Titan Unveiled is highly recommended to the intellectually curious general public, as well as to the most seasoned planetary scientists and engineers. In fact, anyone with an interest in science, astronomy, planetary science and exploration, engineering or the evolution of our own planet will find this book captivating and uplifting. Landing on Titan has been one of the greatest adventures of the current decade . . .
(Agustin Chicarro Physics World )

[W]hile expert readers in the science and engineering community will find much of interest here, it is the book's less technical target audience that will benefit the most. Apart from unveiling the mysteries of an alien world, it opens a window on the mostly hidden world of the planetary scientist, which is equally fascinating.
(Mark Williamson Space Times )

Illustrated with many stunning images, Titan Unveiled is essential reading for anyone interested in space exploration, planetary science, or astronomy.
(Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin )

Titan Unveiled is a great read. It also may well prepare the reader for more adventures to Titan in the future.
(Coalition for Space Exploration )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691125872
• ISBN-13: 978-0691125879
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #549,891 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TITAN GONE WILD!!!, April 13, 2008

By	John R. Vacca "Tech Write Independent Reviewer" (Pomeroy, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Do you want to know what it's like to be on the front lines of a planetary mission? If you do, then this book is for you! Authors Ralph Lorenz and Jacqueline Mitton, have written an outstanding book that describes the most recent episodes in the unfolding story of the exploration of Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Lorenz and Mitton, begin by describing the dropping in of the Huygens probe on the surface of Titan. Then, they examine the state of knowledge about Titan at the time when Cassini and Huygens arrived in the Saturn system. Next, the authors discuss the arrival of Cassini in the Saturn system on July 1, 2004 after a very long trek from earth. They continue by focusing on the last speculations the science teams had about Titan, getting to work on the first results from Cassini's initial approach and the Titan flyby. In addition, the authors also discuss the probe's decent onto Titan on January 14, 2005.
They also describe the Cassini flyby events in chronological order. Finally, the authors discuss the 16th flyby of Titan that took place on July 22, 2006; as well as, present and future mission objectives.

The authors of this most excellent book give prominence to two investigations: First, the surface of Titan and its interaction with the atmosphere have been the most mysterious; and second, the Huygens probe and the RADAR instrument on the Cassini orbiter. More importantly, the authors believe that the atmosphere and the surface of Titan in particular, will interest general readers the most.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating World Deserves More Fascinating Treatment, December 9, 2008

By	doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Saturn's moon Titan is surely one of the most fascinating bodies in the solar system, with a thick atmosphere, Earth-like topography, and complex chemistry that has inspired speculation about primitive life. Starting in late 2004, Titan received a special visit from the Cassini orbiter, which explored the Saturnian system, and the special detachable Huygens probe that was sent to the moon's surface. That mission and the resulting new discoveries are the focus of this book. But the interested layperson is going to have to wait until the last couple of chapters to really learn about all the wondrous new discoveries that have been found on Titan. Alas, much of the rest of the book is a disappointing example of science writing. When scientists decide to inform the general public of their discoveries, they have to remember that not everyone in the public will be as fascinated as they are by the esoteric details of programming, planning, or data analysis.

Introductions to the Cassini/Huygens mission and its related political and budgetary issues are presented with a very poor sense of narrative flow, and will probably be rewarding for a very limited audience of engineering enthusiasts. The text often devolves into the unnecessarily erudite technical specifications of problems like how fast the probe spun upon entry and how many spare models had to be cleaned with what types of hoses during the construction phase. Much of the text is padded with snippets of the author's professional diary ("Ralph's Log"), which are sometimes illuminating but are usually distracting tangents into not-so-useful personal interests.

Also, the publisher gets the thumbs-down as most of the photographs (notwithstanding a short collection of color plates) are flat black-and-white reproductions in which the reader can barely see the fascinating discoveries mentioned so breathlessly in the text. Granted, so far this is probably the definitive guide to all of the wondrous recent discoveries on Titan. But such a fascinating world deserves a more dramatic and romantic treatment than it receives here. [~doomsdayer520~]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Titan Unveiled Unveiled, October 23, 2008

By	Brent A. Warner "Brent Warner" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first came across this book in a review in American Scientist magazine. As the review stated, and as I found to be true when I read the book, it is easy to read because it's well written. Although the first author, Ralph Lorenz, has written technical books on his own, he teamed up with a science writer for this one, and the result is a smooth read. From this book, you will learn about two related topics: what Saturn's moon Titan is like, and what it was like to be part of the team that found that out. I recommend this book for anyone interested in astronomy and space. (Standard disclaimer: my opinions are my own, not necessarily those of my employer.)