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To: NormsRevenge

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0709/09iapetus/

Cassini prepares to fly by walnut-shaped moon
NASA/JPL STATUS REPORT
Posted: September 9, 2007

PASADENA, Calif. - Cassini will make its only close flyby of Saturn’s odd, two-toned, walnut-shaped moon Iapetus on Sept. 10, 2007, at about 1,640 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the surface.

This flyby will be 100 times closer than Cassini’s 2004 encounter, and will be the last time the spacecraft will aim its instruments at this moon.


This moon is very strange. How does it come to have a ridge around the equator?


43 posted on 09/10/2007 7:37:25 AM PDT by RightWhale (It's Brecht's donkey, not mine)
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To: RightWhale
a true freak of nature, probably happened as a result of a collapse of the center and a tearing of the crustlike surface, but to have it line up so nicely is a bit much..

On New Year's Eve 2004, Cassini flew past Saturn's intriguing moon Iapetus, capturing the four visible light images that were put together to form this global view. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

44 posted on 09/10/2007 10:10:18 AM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... ICE’s toll-free tip hotline—1-866-DHS-2-ICE)
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