![]() ![]() The orbital period of Iapetus is the same as its rotational. At such a vast distance from Saturn, it takes Iapetus 79 days to complete one orbit. It has a distinctly lumpy, uneven appearance and a flat. Much of what is known about the planet is due to the Voyager explorations in. It’s only about 19 miles across, which is just a fraction of our own moon’s 2,159 mile diameter. Many of the moons are very small: 33 are less than 10 km (6 mi) in diameter and 13 moons are less than 50 km (31 mi). Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is the second largest in the solar system with an equatorial diameter of 119,300 kilometers (74,130 miles). (For Information on these moons and their current status in terms of United Earth and Union history, follow that moons link) The planet Saturn has 53 named moons 1, and another nine which are still being studied. These images are the closest ever taken of Atlas and will help to characterize its shape and geology. The flyby had a close-approach distance of about 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometers). Iapetus orbits Saturn at a fairly large distance, averaging at 2.2 million miles (3.5 million kilometres). It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and reality of tomorrow. These raw, unprocessed images of Saturn's moon, Atlas, were taken on April 12, 2017, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. 15, Cassini will plunge into the planet's thick atmosphere in a death dive designed to ensure that the spacecraft doesn't contaminate Enceladus or Titan (both of which may be capable of supporting life) with microbes from Earth.įollow Mike Wall on Twitter and Google+. Iapetus is the third largest moon of Saturn with a diameter of 913 miles (1,469 kilometres). Saturn Atlas displays the approximate phase, axial tilt and central meridian of the selected moon from your chosen location and time, and renders these on the globe. Later this month, the probe, which is low on fuel, will begin the "grand finale" phase of its mission - a series of 22 orbits that will take it between Saturn's cloud tops and the edge of the innermost ring. (Huygens was a piggyback lander that touched down on the surface of the huge Saturn moon Titan in January 2005.)īut the Cassini orbiter's work is nearly done. The $3.2 billion Cassini-Huygens mission - a joint effort of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency - launched in October 1997 and arrived at Saturn in July 2004. Atlas, the second of Saturns known satellites, orbits near the outer edge of the A-ring and is about 40 by 20 kilometers (25 by 15 miles) in size. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute) Saturn's moon Atlas hangs in the void in this image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on April 12, 2017. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |