NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 26 Feb 2023: Saturn’s strange moon Iapetus
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Saturn has a total of 83 moons, ranging in size from larger than the planet Mercury – the giant moon Titan – to as small as a sports arena. Among these, the third largest moon of Saturn is Iapetus which has a mean radius of around 457 miles (736 kilometres) and a density only 1.2 times that of liquid water. But there is something strange regarding its surface! In the latest image shared by NASA as the Astronomy Picture of the Day 26 February, this moon looks like a walnut. The image was captured by the Cassini spacecraft, which was orbiting Saturn at the time of its flyby of Iapetus in late 2004.NASA said while sharing the photo, “a strange ridge that circles Saturn's moon Iapetus's equator, visible near the bottom of the featured image, makes it appear similar to a popular edib...