The Lord of the Rings
The ringed planet
has long held a fascination for the amateur astronomer, with its showy rings,
delicately colored bands and numerous satellites. Right now is a good
time to view the planet as it presents its rings at a convenient angle for
inspection.
Strangely enough, the Saturnian satellite Titan may be more
interesting to human beings in the short run than the gas giant itself. Titan has an atmosphere that has this in common with the air of Los Angeles -
it is composed mainly of nitrogen and exhibits a bad case of smog. So bad that
it obscures
the moon's surface from off-world scrutiny. The upcoming Cassini-Huygens mission is
designed to send a probe (the Huygens part) to the surface of Titan and report
back what it finds.
