Saturn's moon Iapetus may look completely devoid of life, but one UFO researcher believes it is home to alien beings. And as in the image to the left, along the edge of the dark area there are many craters where only one side is covered by the dark material; the boundary between the two regions isn’t so sharp after all. Iapetus is best known for its dramatic 'two-tone' coloration, but recent discoveries by the Cassini mission have revealed several other unusual physical characteristics. 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society 2011, p. … Although it is Saturn's third-largest moon, it orbits much farther from Saturn than the next closest major moon, Unlike most of the large moons, its overall shape is neither The difference in colouring between the two Iapetian hemispheres is striking. We have created a browser extension. Would you like Wikipedia to always look as professional and up-to-date? Iapetus is inclined almost 15 degrees.The Nine Planets has been online since 1994 and was one of the first multimedia websites that appeared on the World Wide Web.Take an interactive tour of the solar system, or browse the site to find fascinating information, facts, and data about our planets, the solar system, and beyond. Iapetus is a large moon of Saturn.It was discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1671.. Iapetus is unusual: one side is very bright and the other side is very dark. Iapetus (eye-ap'-ə-təs, IPA /aɪˈæpətəs/ , Greek Ιαπετός) is the third-largest moon of Saturn, discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1671.
The puzzle is compounded by the fact that the dividing line between the two sides is inexplicably sharp.On the last day of 2004, Cassini made its first close encounter with Iapetus. Iapetus (/aɪˈæpɪtəs/; Greek: Ιαπετός), or occasionally Japetus /ˈdʒæpɪtəs/, is the third-largest natural satellite of Saturn, eleventh-largest in the Solar System, and the largest body in the Solar System known not to be in hydrostatic equilibrium. Another possibility is that some active process within Iapetus is responsible. Cassini correctly surmised that Iapetus has a bright hemisphere and a dark hemisphere, and that it is Geological features on Iapetus are named after characters and places from the French epic poem The orbit of Iapetus is somewhat unusual. The albedo of most of the leading hemisphere is about .04, as dark as lampblack, whereas the trailing hemisphere’s albedo is .6, as bright as Europa. Iapetus is best known for its dramatic "two-tone" coloration. The redder color of the leading hemisphere can be seen in bright areas in a lower contrast image (left), and in dark areas in higher contrast images (right).Close-up of 10-kilometer-high (6Â mi) mountains within the Computer simulation of the appearance of Saturn from Iapetus when it is at the "highest" point in its inclined orbit. You could also do it yourself at any point in time.It will enhance any encyclopedic page you visit with the magic of the WIKI 2 technology.The bright trailing hemisphere, with part of the dark area appearing on the right (the equatorial ridge is in profile on the right limb). This is because one half of the moon is covered in ice and the other side is coated in black, dusty carbon deposits. For the mythological figure, see View of Cassini Regio. One difficulty is to explain why it follows the equator almost perfectly. Iapetus is the 3rd largest moon of planet Saturn, and has a massive equatorial ridge running three-quarters of the way around the moon, giving it the appearance of a walnut.Iapetus also has a striking two-tone coloration, with one hemisphere showing a bright water ice surface and the other hemisphere showing a dark color, possibly due to sublimation effects. The third largest moon of Saturn An ancient ocean which existed between 600 and 400 million years ago.
This difference is so striking that Cassini noted that he could see Iapetus only on one side of Saturn and not on the other.One explanation of this is that the leading hemisphere is dusted with a coating of material knocked off of Phoebe or some other Saturnian body. The initial dark material is thought to have been debris blasted by meteors off small outer moons in Light debris outside of Iapetus's orbit, either knocked free from the surface of a moon by The largest reservoir of such infalling material is Current triaxial measurements of Iapetus give it radial dimensions of 746 km à746 km à712 km (464 mi à464 mi à442 mi), with a mean radius of 734.5 ± 2.8 km (456.4 ± 1.7 mi).It is not clear how the ridge formed. "Saturn's Other Icy Moons: Geologically Complex Worlds." There are at least four current hypotheses, but none of them explains why the ridge is confined to Cassini Regio.
The images show that the dark material overlays the topography, indicating that it is relatively young. The large crater Schenk et al. In Greek mythology Iapetus was a Titan, the son of Uranus, the father of Prometheus and Atlas and an … Large craters visible include Falsaron (upper left), The bright regions of Iapetus.