JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Image

Yin and Yang

Dec 23, 2013
Iapetus is a moon of extreme contrasts. The light and dark features give the moon a distinctive 'yin and yang' appearance in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Iapetus is a moon of extreme contrasts. The light and dark features give the moon a distinctive "yin and yang" appearance. Scientists believe that a runaway migration of ice on the surface, triggered by a preferential initial darkening and consequential warming of the leading hemisphere of the moon by infalling debris from the outer moon Phoebe, may be responsible for the unusual and striking appearance.

For more on Iapetus (914 miles, or 1,471 kilometers across), see this press release about theories regarding this moon's unique color dichotomy.

This view looks toward the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Iapetus. North on Iapetus is up and rotated 30 degrees to the right. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 30, 2013.

The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.5 million miles (2.5 million kilometers) from Iapetus. The raw image scale is 9 miles (15 kilometers) per pixel. This image has been magnified by a factor of 1.5.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Download JPG
Download TIFF
Mission
  • Mission to Saturn
Target
  • Iapetus
Spacecraft
  • Cassini Orbiter
Instrument
  • Imaging Science Subsystem - Narrow Angle
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Keep Exploring

Enceladus in the Infrared (Map View)

Enceladus in the Infrared

Enceladus Global View with Plume (Artist's Rendering)

First Global Geologic Map of Titan

Enceladus Organics on Grains of Ice (Illustration)

Titan's Rimmed Lakes (Artist's Concept)

Texture Belts

Texture in the Outer Cassini Division

Mini-jets in the F Ring

Embedded Moons Sculpt Saturn's Rings

Related Topic

News .

NASA to Host Virtual Briefing on February Perseverance Mars Rover Landing

News .

NASA InSight’s ‘Mole’ Ends Its Journey on Mars

News .

NASA’s Juno Mission Expands Into the Future

News .

Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover to Capture Sounds From the Red Planet

Topic .

Solar System

News .

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Reaches Its 3,000th Day on Mars

News .

NASA Extends Exploration for Two Planetary Science Missions

News .

Celebrate the Perseverance Rover Landing With NASA's Student Challenge

News .

7 Things to Know About the NASA Rover About to Land on Mars

Video .

What's Up - January 2021

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors of JPL
JPL History
Documentary Series
Virtual Tour
Annual Reports
Missions
All
Current
Past
Future
News
All
Earth
Mars
Solar System
Universe
Technology
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Infographics
Engage
JPL and the Community
Lecture Series
Public Tours
Events
Team Competitions
JPL Speakers Bureau
Topics
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Stars and Galaxies
Exoplanets
Technology
JPL Life
For Media
Contacts and Information
Press Kits
More
Asteroid Watch
Robotics at JPL
Subscribe to Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Manager: Veronica McGregor
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Randal Jackson, Naomi Hartono