Astronomy Picture of the Day - Saturn's Iapetus: Painted Moon in 3D

Explanation: What has happened to Saturn's moon Iapetus? Vast sections of this strange world are dark brown, while others are as bright white. The composition of the dark material is unknown, but infrared spectra indicate that it possibly contains some dark form of carbon. Iapetus also has an unusual equatorial ridge that makes it appear like a walnut. To help better understand this seemingly painted moon, NASA directed the robotic Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn to swoop within 2,000 kilometers in 2007. Iapetus is pictured here in 3D. A huge impact crater seen in the south spans a tremendous 450 kilometers and appears superposed on an older crater of similar size. The dark material is seen increasingly coating the easternmost part of Iapetus, darkening craters and highlands alike. Close inspection indicates that the dark coating typically faces the moon's equator and is less than a meter thick. A leading hypothesis is that the dark material is mostly dirt leftover when relatively warm but dirty ice sublimates. An initial coating of dark material may have been effectively painted on by the accretion of meteor-liberated debris from other moons.

Its fun to play with! Thanks for posting!

(Its a moon that wants to pretend its a Death star!)

https://study.com/academy/lesson/iapetus-mythology-symbol-facts.html

Iapetus was one of the elder sons of the primordial deities Gaea (the Earth) and Uranus (the sky). Apparently, Uranus was a tyrant to his children, so Iapetus and four brothers (Kronos, Crios, Coeus, and Hyperion) ambushed him one night. Four of them held Uranus in place while Kronos castrated him.

At this point, Kronos became the new leader of all the Titans, ruling over the mythical Golden Age of Greek history. Most of the other brothers are only vaguely referenced at this point, but not Iapetus. He is actually constantly mentioned and almost appears as a co-ruler with Kronos. Clearly, he was important, but there's something else in their connection. Kronos was the Titan deity of time itself. Iapetus' name (which literally means ''the piercer'') suggesting a fragment of time, or a breaking of eternal time, again bringing us back to that concept of mortality.
Kronos went on to have 12 children who became the gods of Greek mythology led by Zeus. This makes Iapetus the uncle of the original Greek gods. Eventually, the gods overthrew Kronos just as the Titans had overthrown Uranus, ending the Golden Age. In a fierce battle of Titans versus gods, known as the Titanomachy, Iapetus and his brothers were defeated and cast into the pit of Tartaros.

In Tartaros, Iapetus may have taken on a new role. Remember how he and three brothers restrained Uranus? In so doing, they became the four pillars that held the sky in place. It's generally assumed that Iapetus was the west pillar. Why the west? Because the sun sets in the west, a common metaphor for mortality in many cultures. However, while in Tartaros, the four Titans who held up the sky became responsible for bearing the weight of the entire cosmos instead."

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