Does Iapetus have a moon?
With its distant, inclined orbit, Iapetus is the only large moon from which there is a nice view of the rings of Saturn. As with some other Saturnian moons, Iapetus is in resonance with Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, which orbits at 759,200 miles (1,221,850 kilometers).
Why do Iapetus have ridges?
The researchers suggest that, of all the planets and moons in our solar system, only Iapetus has this kind of ridge because of its unique orbit so far away from Saturn. This made it easier to have a moon of its own — if Iapetus was closer in, Saturn might have tugged Iapetus’ moon away, Dombard said.
Can you see Iapetus from Earth?
This means that the bright hemisphere is visible from Earth when Iapetus is on the western side of Saturn, and that the dark hemisphere is visible when Iapetus is on the eastern side.
What does Saturn look like from Iapetus?
Iapetus (1,468 kilometers, or 912 miles across) is the only major moon of Saturn with a significant inclination to its orbit. From the other major satellites, the rings would appear nearly edge-on, but from Iapetus, the rings usually appear at a tilt, as seen here.
Why is Iapetus black and white?
Using pictures taken by Cassini, particularly during a September 2007 close fly-by, the scientists assert that Iapetus’ darker half, called Cassini Regio, is the result of the planet’s leading side getting bombarded by dusty debris from another Saturnian moon, Phoebe, which orbits in the opposite direction beyond …
Is there a ridge on the moon?
Scientists have discovered these wrinkle ridges in a region of the Moon called Mare Frigoris. These ridges add to evidence that the Moon has an actively changing surface.
Are asteroids natural satellites?
Planets, asteroids and comets orbit around stars such as our Sun and so can also be thought of as natural satellites. All of these can be thought of as natural satellites.
Who is the son of Iapetus?
Gaia
Uranus
Iapetus/Parents
What moon did NASA want to map with Cassini?
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft would eventually complete more than 100 targeted flybys of Titan, sending European Space Agency’s Huygens probe to land on the mysterious, alien world—the first landing on a surface in the outer solar system.
What are the features of the moon Iapetus?
Iapetus may have experienced a (possibly small) influx of dark material from an external source, which could have warmed up and triggered this thermal segregation process. The second most notable feature of Iapetus is its “equatorial ridge,” a chain of 6-mile (10-km) high mountains girdling the moon’s equator.
How big is Iapetus in relation to Titan?
As with some other Saturnian moons, Iapetus is in resonance with Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, which orbits at 759,200 miles (1,221,850 kilometers). That means that the two objects speed up and slow down as they pass each other in a complex set of variations.
Is the moon Iapetus in resonance with Saturn?
With its distant, inclined orbit, Iapetus is the only large moon from which there is a nice view of the rings of Saturn. As with some other Saturnian moons, Iapetus is in resonance with Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, which orbits at 759,200 miles (1,221,850 kilometers).
How tall are the Voyager Mountains on Iapetus?
The Voyager Mountains reach as high as 6 miles (10 kilometers). The ridge wrapped around Iapetus’ equator may have formed early in its history, when the moon spun faster than it does today. It may also have been created from material deposited by a ring or moon that collapsed onto the satellite.