What is unique about Iapetus?
What is unique about Iapetus?
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 was Iapetus created?
However, a proposed model on the formation of Titan suggests that Titan was instead formed in a series of giant impacts between pre-existing moons. Iapetus and Rhea are thought to have formed from part of the debris of these collisions.
Why does Iapetus look like a walnut?
Saturn’s moon Iapetus looks like a walnut because it lies in a “Goldilocks zone” around the giant planet, new research suggests. In general, moons that form around planets—rather than those believed to be captured objects—spin due to the motion of debris as it consolidates into a larger orbiting body.
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 …
Who named Iapetus?
Giovanni Cassini
Discovery and naming Iapetus is one of four moons discovered by Giovanni Cassini in 1672. But the icy moon challenged the Italian astronomer. He first spotted it on the west side of the planet, but when he attempted to observe it 39 days later on the eastern side, no trace of the satellite could be found.
What is unusual about Saturn’s moons Iapetus and Phoebe?
Phoebe and Iapetus are the only major moons in the Saturnian system that do not orbit closely to the plane of Saturn’s equator. Its irregular, elliptical orbit is inclined about 175 degrees to Saturn’s equator.
What was Iapetus The God of?
Iapetos (Iapetus) may have been the Titan god who presided over the mortal life-span who assigned mortal creatures their finite lot. Like his brother Titanes, he was a god of time, one of the sons of Ouranos, the great dome of heaven which measured all of time.
Who was Iapetus?
In Greek mythology, Iapetus (/aɪˈæpɪtəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἰαπετός, romanized: Iapetós), also Japetus, is a Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia and father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius. He was also called the father of Buphagus and Anchiale in other sources.
Does Iapetus have an atmosphere?
The largest of these craters is known as Roland and is 90 miles (144 km) in diameter. The second largest crater in this area, called Marsilion, is 84 miles (136 km) in diameter. Iapetus has no detectable atmosphere and no magnetic field.
Who was Iapetus father?
Uranus
Iapetus/Father
What is Iapetus the Titan of?
IAPETUS (Iapetos) – Greek Titan God of Mortality.
Who killed Iapetus?
According to Apollodorus (i. 2. § 3) he married Asia, the daughter of his brother Oceanus, and became by her the father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius, who was slain by Zeus in the war against the Titans, and shut up in Tartarus.
How big is the moon of Saturn Iapetus?
• Iapetus – Iapetus is a moon of Saturn that was discovered by Italian astronomer Giovaccini Domenico Cassini in 1671. What is so interesting about Iapetus is that there is a mountain-like ridge running around the moon’s equator that measures up to 20 kilometres tall, twice the size of Mt Everest, and approximately 200 kilometres thick.
When did Giovanni Cassini discover the moon Iapetus?
Giovanni Cassini observed the dark-light difference of this moon’s surface when he discovered Iapetus in 1671. He noted that he could only see Iapetus on the west side of Saturn. He correctly concluded that Iapetus had one side much darker than the other side, and that Iapetus was tidally locked with Saturn.
How did the moon Iapetus get its name?
Iapetus comes from the name of a Greek Titan, following along in the tradition of calling Saturn’s moons after the Titans. 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.
Why are the Rings of Saturn visible from Iapetus?
Because of this distant, inclined orbit, Iapetus is the only large moon from which the rings of Saturn would be clearly visible; from the other inner moons, the rings would be edge-on and difficult to see. The cause of this highly inclined orbit of Iapetus is unknown; however, it is not likely to have been captured.
