Astronomy Almanac >
 Home         
 Images         
 Questions         
 Almanac         
 Our Universe         
   Planets  
   Moons  
   Constellations  
   Stars  
   Messier Objects  
Galaxies  
   Nebulae  
 History         
   Timelines  
   Astronomers  
   Glossary         
Almanac > Moons

Iapetus
Iapetus is a moon which orbits the planet Saturn.
 

 



Iapetus
 
 
Fact Sheet

Planet

   Saturn

Date Discovered

   1671

Discoverer

   Jean-Dominique Cassini

Distance From Planet

   3,561,300 km

Mass

   1.88E+21 kg

Density

   1.02 g/cm³

Revolution Period

   79.33 days

Orbit Inclination

   7.52 degrees

Diameter

   1436 km

Eccentricity

   0.028

Albedo

   0.2

Escape Velocity

   ~0.10 km/s

 
Description

Overview:
Iapetus is a moon that revolves around the planet Saturn. Iapetus maintains a mean distance from Saturn of 3,561,300 km. It takes Iapetus 79.33 days to orbit its planet.

 Details:
Iapetus is a relatively large satellite with a diameter of 1436 km. Iapetus has an orbital eccentricity of 0.028 and an inclination of 7.52 degrees.

 Discovery:
Iapetus was discovered by Jean-Dominique Cassini in the year 1671.