It seems we have science every day here, but even so.

Let's talk Titan.

Titan has been a favorite of science fiction writers for many years now, ever since we got to the Moon (finding it empty) and got satellites next to Mars (finding it nearly empty). It was far, far away, there were hints of water.

Just for fun, I found this list of Titan-themed SF. Some hightlights:

• The great Kurt Vonnegut's "Sirens of Titan."
  
• "2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke.
  
• "Game Players of Titan" by Philip K. Dick.
  
• "Titan" by John Varley
  

To which I will also add "Kronos" by Allan Steele. And those are just the highlights. Lots more where they came from.

So what's the real story?

Titan is cold, its land scarred by wind and perhaps (still) puddled by organic lakes, liquid ethane and propane or solid polymers of acetylene at -179 degrees celcius. There's also a feature that looks like the head of a Halloween cat.

This is just the first fly-by. Some 43 more are planned. More soon.