Cassini reveals Saturn's moon 'Iapetus' is a world of contrast – See pic

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

New Delhi: NASA's Cassini spacecraft imaged Saturn's intriguing moon Iapetus, revealing that the third-largest natural satellite of the gas giant is a world of contrast, with light and dark regions fitting together like cosmic puzzle pieces.

Data from the Cassini mission has shown that Cassini Regio on Iapetus is covered in a layer of dark, dusty material creating a stark contrast to the much brighter region that surrounds it, which leads to the moon's distinctive, two-toned appearance.

Cassini Regio is the enigmatic dark area that covers the leading half of Iapetus.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 11, 2017.

The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.6 million miles (2.6 million kilometers) from Iapetus. Image scale is 9 miles (15 kilometers) per pixel.

Iapetus was discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini, an Italian astronomer, in October 1671.