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The Planetary Report • November/December 1983
Tantalizing Titan
On the Cover: Sunlight scatters off Titan's thick atmosphere, illuminating a crescent as <i>Voyager 2</i> looked back on the night side of Saturn's largest satellite. In this false color image, a thin blue haze layer completely outlines the satellite. Organic compounds color the enshrouding clouds, giving Titan a distinct orangish hue. Such organic compounds were the precursors of life on Earth, and by studying Titan we may learn about our own origins.
Features
3 "No Small Rapture": The Exploration of Saturn's Moon Titan: Carl Sagan goes into the history of our knowledge of Saturn's largest moon.
6 A Glimpse of the Past? The Evolution of Titan's Atmosphere: Tobias Owen explains how studying Titan may help us understand the origins of life on Earth.
9 Discovering Organic Molecules on Titan: Rudolf Hanel and John Pearl discuss how organics on Titan were discovered.
11 Mucky Seas and Hazy Skies: An Ethane Ocean on Titan? Jonathan I. Lunine examines Voyager's possible detection of oceans—but not filled with water—on Titan.
14 The Tides of Titan: Stanley F. Dermott describes the tidal effects of Saturn on Titan.
16 The Future Exploration of Titan: Byron L. Swenson gives us a look at what NASA Ames and JPL have planned for exploring Titan down the line.
Departments
15 World Watch A letter from Carl Sagan to the NASA administrator.
17 News & Reviews Earth, Venus, and the space station.
18 Society Notes A talk with Lew Allen, director of JPL.
The Planetary Report • November/December 1983
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