Celestial Objects

Iapetus

Moon of Saturn

Citation Formats

General Reference

Space and Astronomy Atlas. "Iapetus." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/iapetus.

APA Style

Space and Astronomy Atlas. (n.d.). Iapetus. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/iapetus

BibTeX

@misc{spaceandastronomyatlas-iapetus,
  author = {Space and Astronomy Atlas},
  title = {Iapetus},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/iapetus},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Iapetus, Saturn's third-largest moon, is known as the yin and yang of Saturn's moons for its stark two-toned surface: a leading hemisphere as dark as coal and a trailing hemisphere many times brighter.

Facts

Object Type

Moon 1

Diameter (km)

1472 1

Orbital Distance

3,561,000 km from Saturn 1

Discovery Year

1671 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Orbits

Saturn

Source NASA Solar System Exploration

Sources

1. NASA Solar System Exploration

National Aeronautics and Space Administrationscience.nasa.gov, Saturn Moons: Iapetus

Quote, science.nasa.gov, Saturn Moons: Iapetus

Iapetus has been called the yin and yang of the Saturn moons because its leading hemisphere has a reflectivity (or albedo) as dark as coal.

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