In September 2017, the Cassini spacecraft will point itself toward the atmosphere of Saturn and end its 13 year mission of solving many of the mysteries of the ringed planet's system with a crash. This book is a dramatic, beautifully illustrated journey of discovery through the Saturn system. Cassini's instruments have revealed never seen before details including the only extraterrestrial lakes known in the solar system and have provided unprecedented views of the rings.

Saturn is the jewel of the solar system. The Cassini spacecraft has been exploring the ringed planet and its moons and rings since 2004 and has helped us solve many of its 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. Along the way, this book explores and explains the fundamental processes that shape not just the Saturn system, but planets and moons in general.

Written for the general audience with an emphasis on the fundamental physics of planetary systems, The Ringed Planet is a fascinating exploration of the Saturn system that places Saturn in the context of the solar system as a whole. Cassini's instruments have revealed Enceladus and Titan to have subsurface oceans of liquid water. Its cameras have returned stunning images of rings in turmoil, a tumbling moon, the only extraterrestrial lakes known in the solar system, a hexagon of clouds, some of the highest mountains in the solar system and much more. Its final series of orbits before a planned crash into Saturn in September 2017 will reveal details of the interior structure of Saturn as well as provide unprecedented views of the rings. More than a journey of discovery at Saturn, The Ringed Planet is also an introduction to how planetary systems work.

Joshua Colwell, University of Central Florida
Dr. Joshua Colwell is a Planetary Scientist and Professor of Physics at the University of Central Florida. His research interests are in the origin and evolution of the solar system, planet formation, planetary rings, asteroids and comets. He is a Co-Investigator on the Cassini mission with an emphasis on Saturn's rings. His experiments on planet formation, asteroids, and planetary rings have flown on the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, suborbital rockets, and parabolic airplane flights. He produces and hosts the astronomy podcast "Walkabout the Galaxy."

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Seeing Saturn
3. Why are there moons and rings?
4. A menagerie of moons
5. Dynamic rings
6. Titan: the planet moon
7. The Ringed Planet
8. Future exploration of the Saturn system