Iapetus Fly-by

[funkytripper]

so glad the mute function is fully operational

[BackToTheBus]

Maybe the leading hemisphere of this giant spaceship got darkened when whoever put it in orbit around Saturn used aerobraking to slow it down.

[vettedreams]

Imagine far furure generations skiing down 10 kilometers on Iapetus on computer controlled skis, or flying over the surface in personal spacecraft while on vacation from there jobs on Mars. What wonders are in store for those humans. I hope we can someday realize the fate of this planet is in our hands and change the way we are treating it and each other.

[vettedreams]

Very Cool

[intrptr]

Though left out here, there is a titanic impact crater on one side of this moon. I was wondering if the shock waves could have circulated around, reflecting off of each other in a kind of bounce back effect that would produce that "ridge"? The whole surface looks as though its been swept by powerful forces many times over.

[WulfBand]

We give NASA Billions of dollars and what do we get back, CRAPPY pictures. They need to release the good stuff of send a Polaroid on the next flight. My 7 year old could take better pictures than NASA. If they are really that incompetent then we need to FIRE EVERYONE at NASA.

[hfcarwash]

An alien ship in disguise

[KarbineKyle]

Beautiful...

I think that Iapetus is one of the most mysterious worlds... Its 8-mile high ridge that runs ~ 800 miles lateral gives a "lollipop" kind of shape. It's very mysterious, as if two hemispheres, one darker, and the other brighter, collided to form a more spherical shape. I'm not sure, but that's an interesting theory IMO. The Universe is beautiful and chaotic... Perhaps its dark side is something like an oxide, like black iron oxide? IDK... I LOVE Science! AWESOME Video! THUMBS UP! =)

[MrVorudo]

I always thought that Iapetus was one of those reptilians spaceships disguised as harmless moons... crazy isn't it?

Sadly, by the time people realise this, it will be too late.

[KidMoneyFresh420]

amazing

[theghostparticle]

did you notice that the shape of this "moon" in not right?it haves straight edges!,like a dodecahedron.specially when the saturn's light shine on its face...i can see flat surfaces.specially the close up of the equatorial ridge!!look,its flat! i search on other pictures of iapetus and it all looks like a dodecahedron!am i loosing my mind?how come a moon(or is it really a moon?)shaped like that!?

[cheezycam]

My speculation: The ridge was a mass launcher for the ice and the crater was a giant solar focusing dish to power a mechanisim that was used as a giant mass launcher that sent the frozen water off the surface and towards the inner solar system where it streaked across our dry, primative atmophere, creating white clouds from horizon to horizon. Perhapse centuries of this created the humidity that covers this planet of ours.

[sidthemyth]

do you think the waters there could be electric?

i'm doing a painting about that.

very good stuff

[spacestevie2]

When the original Voyager photos of Iapetus came in and bore a striking resemblance to the description Clarke gave in the novel version of 2001, Carl Sagan sent him a photo of the moon with the cryptic caption, "Thinking of you."

[hulaqde]

Arthur C.Clarke is truly enjoying this...and then some...rest easy and may Iapetus be within your grasp....R.I.P.

[SilentInsomnia]

What is the whitish sphere (11 o'clock) that comes in around 3:13? It looks like a still of a sphere rising out of the surface??

[theboydanny]

photojournal . jpl . nasa . gov / catalog / PIA08372

Take a look at the hig-res one, looks like the other side of the crater is catchin' some Sun.

[MichealTea]

I Always thought that the ridges shown in the video was that of tectonic plates shifting underneath, but it shows a polar terrain. Now the dark blue,Im sure that is the warmest polar regian. The dark blue could be warm water trapped underneath the surface. And the bright red regian is as said. "Ice".

[BrunoTheQuestionable]

The dark side is warmer than the bright side, because of absorption of sunlight. This causes sublimation of any exposed ice on the dark side, and its precipitation on the bright side and at the poles. The red region in the ultaviolet image in the video is the polar ice. The dark blue region is the dark material. Liquid water may once have existed on Iapetus, but it is far too cold now.

[davidchenard]

Perhaps it was a once the rings of the moon that fell to the surface.

[SkepticalZombie]

The equatorial ridge of Iapetus looks much like the mid-Atlantic ridge of our little planet.

There goes that pattern-seeking element of my brain. Cool video though, thank you again, Bruno!

[BrunoTheQuestionable]

Interesting observation. I wonder if its origin is "volcanic" but formed by water instead of lava.

[SkepticalZombie]

As far as I understand it, that is one of the leading theories.

[RoadRunnerLaser]

Knickers !

There seems to be one of my comments missing..

I said something along the lines of 'up to your usual standard, Bruno. Excellent material.'

[BrunoTheQuestionable]

Thanks - its appreciated.

[RoadRunnerLaser]

Oh aye... I didn't realise that was Tomita's version... I've got other music on at the moment so I wasn't paying attention. I've got the Dolby Surround CD version of Tomita's rendition of Planet Suite so I should have realised immediately.

[BrunoTheQuestionable]

I've only heard it in stereo. Tomita originally mixed his productions for quadraphonic so it must have been straightforward to convert to surround-sound. I bet it sounds amazing on a proper surround-sound system.

[alien8ted]

Excellent vid, goes well with the eerie Tomita soundtrack too, haven't heard that piece in decades!

[BrunoTheQuestionable]

Its the Saturn movement from the Planets Suite, ha ha.

[BADAWYY]

Hmmm interesting. Those NASA guys are always finding something that defies current knowledge. The landscapes are very intriguing. I felt a shviver on my spine. :)

[BrunoTheQuestionable]

Yes, you can see in the transition region that the dark coating is only at the high spots of the underlying ice. The coating looks very thin to me.

[nethius]

Cool vid!

[BrunoTheQuestionable]

Thanks - my editing skillz are slowly improving :)

[JaalaJ]

Faint atmosphere ...about time. Nice going, NASA. Little releases like this make it possible for you to pretend like you haven't been lying.

[BrunoTheQuestionable]

I'm afraid THEY don't appear to be here :)

But then, its so much easier to observe us from their home system anyway.