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Birthday · October 15, 1995

Iapetus: Saturn's Disappearing Moon

October 15, 1995

You were not dropped into the cosmos as a stranger. You came from it entirely: borrowed from stars, carried by Earth, warmed by the Sun, and...

Iapetus: Saturn's Disappearing Moon

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APOD published October 15, 1995. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.

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Iapetus: Saturn's Disappearing Moon

Original APOD · October 15, 1995

Iapetus has an unusual surface, one half of which is very dark, the other half very light. This caused it's discoverer Cassini to remark that Iapetus could only be seen when on one side of Saturn but not the other. The reason for the difference between hemispheres is presently unknown. Iapetus is the third largest of Saturn's moon behind Titan and Rhea. Iapetus is composed predominantly of water ice.

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