Loading the simulation…

A Journey to the End of Time

The Solar System in 3D, in real time

A simulation of the Solar System driven by real ephemerides. The Sun, the planets, Pluto and the major moons, space probes, the International Space Station, nearby stars and the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way are where they really are at the chosen moment. You can run time from 1700 to 2100, fly from one object to another and look at the sky from anywhere on Earth.

Iapetus

Moon of Saturn

Facts

Mean diameter
1469 km
Mean distance from the planet
3,561,700 km
Orbital period
79.3 days
Discovery
Giovanni Domenico Cassini, 1671

Iapetus is a two-toned moon of Saturn: the hemisphere that faces forwards along its orbit is as dark as coal, the other much brighter. Its discoverer, Giovanni Domenico Cassini, could only see it when it was west of Saturn.

A mountain ridge 10 km high runs along its equator, and its distant, tilted orbit offers a fine view of the rings. It is named after a Titan, the father of Prometheus.

Sources