File:Iapetus_trailing_natural_color.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Iapetus

Also known as Japetus, Saturn VIII

moon of Saturn

AI overview

Iapetus is one of Saturn's moons, notable for its distinctive two-toned appearance with one hemisphere much darker than the other. It matters to scientists because its unusual features provide clues about the history and processes of Saturn's moon system.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Radius: 734.5
Mass: 1.8055
Orbital period: 79.3215
Image: Iapetus as seen by the Cassini probe - 20071008.jpg

Show 11 more facts

Commons category: Iapetus
time of discovery or invention: 1671-10-25
Commons gallery: Iapetus (moon)
semi-major axis of an orbit: 3560820
orbital eccentricity: 0.0286125
density: 1.088
albedo: 0.6
orbital inclination: 17.28
apparent magnitude: 10.2
periapsis: 3462252
apoapsis: 3659387

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Article

Iapetus (/aɪˈæpətəs/) is the outermost of Saturn's large moons. With an estimated diameter of 1,469 km (913 mi), it is the third-largest moon of Saturn and the eleventh-largest in the Solar System. Named after the Titan Iapetus from Greek mythology, the moon was discovered in 1671 by Giovanni Domenico Cassini.

A relatively low-density body composed mostly of ice, Iapetus is home to several distinctive and unusual features, such as a striking difference in coloration between its dark leading hemisphere and its bright trailing hemisphere, as well as a massive equatorial ridge that runs three-quarters of the way around the moon.