The joint NASA-ESA Cassini-Huygens mission is a splendid example of how international cooperation can produce a wealth of scientific return that could not be afforded by the programs of any partner alone. ESA contributed the Titan atmosphere entry probe and NASA the orbiter spacecraft, the launch, and operations. Various national agencies contributed to the payloads of both the orbiter and the entry probe. Cassini will return much more information than the Galileo mission. While Saturn is further from the Sun than Jupiter, with less illumination and a colder environment, Saturn’s weaker radiation belt permits longer periods of observation close to Saturn than were possible with Galileo at Jupiter. Cassini provides shorter period orbits, closer images of the rings and the atmosphere, and many more satellite encounters, in fact 44 encounters with Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in the first four years in orbit. This greater number of observations provides a rich scientific bonanza for the remote sensing instruments on Cassini. This book is the third and last volume of this compendium on the Cassini-Huygens mission. This volume describes the remote sensing investigations on the Cassini orbiter: radio science, radar, visible and near infrared spectroscopy, far infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopy, and visible imagery. This book is of interest to all potential users of the Cassini-Huygens data, to those who wish to learn about the planned scientific return from the Cassini-Huygens mission, and those curious about the processes occurring on this most fascinating planet.

This book is one of two volumes meant to capture, to the extent practical, the scienti?c legacy of the Cassini-Huygens prime mission, a landmark in the history of planetary exploration. As the most ambitious and interdisciplinary planetary exploration mission ?own to date, it has extended our knowledge of the Saturn system to levels of detail at least an order of magnitude beyond that gained from all previous missions to Saturn. Nestled in the brilliant light of the new and deep understanding of the Saturn planetary system is the shiny nugget that is the spectacularly successful collaboration of individuals, - ganizations and governments in the achievement of Cassini-Huygens. In some ways the pa- nershipsformedandlessonslearnedmaybethemost enduringlegacyofCassini-Huygens.The broad, international coalition that is Cassini-Huygens is now conducting the Cassini Equinox Mission and planning the Cassini Solstice Mission, and in a major expansion of those fruitful efforts, has extended the collaboration to the study of new ?agship missions to both Jupiter and Saturn. Such ventures have and will continue to enrich us all, and evoke a very optimistic vision of the future of international collaboration in planetary exploration. The two volumes in the series Saturn from Cassini-Huygens and Titan from Cassini- Huygens are the direct products of the efforts of over 200 authors and co-authors. Though each book has a different set of three editors, the group of six editors for the two volumes has worked together through every step of the process to ensure that these two volumes are a set.

The exploration of the planets is the modem counterpart to the exploration voy ages of old. To reach the new world Columbus had to secure funding from Queen Isabella, outfit his three ships and set sail on a long journey. To explore the Amer ican Pacific Northwest, Lewis and Clark had a similar task of obtaining funding, purchasing equipment and going to points unknown, even though their path was across land and not sea. Today our journey is through space, rather than across land or sea, but we still travel with ships, now spaceworthy craft, rather than seaworthy. Our spacecraft are smaller than the ships of yore, crammed with electronics rather than provisions because man cannot go along on these journeys. We now rely on robots to be our eyes and ears at these distant worlds. Nevertheless, some aspects of exploration have not changed over the centuries. People are still fascinated by these unknown worlds and desire to explore them, and the process of obtaining the large sums of public moneys to finance these journeys still requires much pleading with authorities.

This book is a thorough and engaging presentation of the key concepts in planetary ring science informed by the latest research findings.

The contents of this volume consist of astronomical and meteorological observations made in 1885, as well as several plates of the Saturnian rings and several appendices.

A long-time avid amateur astronomer living in Massachusetts, Chaple profiles the Jovian planets, that is the gas giants and their many moons, but not the former planet Pluto. His topics include the birth of the Jovian planets, Jupiter's moons as a solar system in miniature, Saturn as the crown jewel of the Solar System (the full sized one), the tipped-over world Uranus, Neptune the planet discovered on paper, Jovian planets beyond our solar system, and Voyager 2's grand tour.