Carolyn Porco on Titan

by Clifford Johnson     Department: Earth

Got 20 minutes? Here's one way to spend them - perhaps a tea break or a coffee break. At TED last year, Carolyn Porco  talked about some of the things we've learned about Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. We've learned a lot about the Saturn system as a result of all the great work that has been done with the aid of the Cassini-Huygens mission. (I've pointed to many Cassini images over on Asymptotia, and you can go there and use the search engine there. You'll find links to lots of the Cassini websites there too - for example from this post.)

Why a focus on Titan? Well, it is one of objects in the Solar System  that you'd study
if you wanted to learn more about our very own Earth, by seeing and studying examples of geological and geographical variety that reminds you of Earth. In fact, she says that Titan is probably the Earth's only rival for diversity and activity on the surface -  rain, flowing liquids on the surface, etc. (That reminds me - see my report on a talk by Gary Peterson on his thoughts about what studying the surface of Triton, a moon of Neptune, can teach us about Earth.)

She speaks very well, with enthusiasm and sincerity. She reminds us why we do these missions, why we study our Solar System, and the prospects for learning more about ourselves in this way.

 It's an excellent talk. You can view it below.



-cvj

Tags: carolyn porco, Cassini, huygens, TED, Titan