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Iapetus has a bright and a dark hemisphere, with a ridge running along its equator. The dark region is called Cassini Regio and is the principal feature of the leading hemisphere. The surface of Iapetus is heavily cratered, with large impact basins up to 580 kilometres across.
Oct 5, 2021 · Key Takeaways. Iapetus, the second moon ever discovered around Saturn back in 1671, has three bizarre properties that science still struggles to explain. It orbits out of Saturn’s plane and has a...
- Ethan Siegel
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Iapetus' bright side is returning to view for the next few weeks, meaning anyone with a small telescope can now spot the elusive moon. When farthest east of Saturn in its languid 79-day orbit, Iapetus glows at magnitude 11.9, faint enough to be easily overlooked.
Iapetus is heavily cratered, and Cassini images have revealed large impact basins, at least five of which are over 350 km (220 mi) wide.
Saturn's third largest moon, Iapetus has a mean radius of 457 miles (736 kilometers) and a density only 1.2 times that of liquid water. It has been suggested that Iapetus (like Rhea) is three quarters ice and one quarter rock.
Iapetus is a heavily cratered body, and Cassini images have revealed large impact basins in the dark region, at least three of which are over 350 km wide. The largest has a diameter over 500 km; its rim is extremely steep and includes a scarp over 15 km high.
Jan 7, 2005 · This view of Saturn's moon Iapetus captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows how the dark, heavily cratered terrain of Cassini Regio transitions to a bright, icy terrain at high latitudes.
