A Year of Cassini

The end of the year always elicits annual reviews of events, of course. They can be boring, funny, awe-inspiring, useless, and LOL-inducing. But it’s not often you get one that’s literally other-worldly.

But that’s just what Carolyn Porco delivers with her 2008 “Captain’s Log” summary of a year of discovery from the Cassini Saturn probe. Even if you don’t like the usual annual nostalgia, I think this is one you’ll want to look at. Enceladus, rings, Titan, the planet itself: they’re all there, with links to science and pictures that’ll keep you warm on this New Year’s Eve.