Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection Collection NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection Collection
Title:
Exposing Iapetus' Dark Side Title Exposing Iapetus' Dark Side Title
Original Caption Released with Image:
Images taken with Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph shed some light on the dark side of Saturn's moon Iapetus. Scientists are trying to figure out what painted Iapetus' dark side. This is one of the biggest mysteries scientists are trying to answer during the upcoming Sept. 10, 2007, flyby. The ultraviolet image on the left indicates water ice abundance across the surface: the bright north polar terrain (shown in red) is the iciest region in this view. Away from the pole, as the color shifts to blue, less water ice is present in the surface. The darkest terrain, which includes very little water ice, is shown in light blue. The dark sky background viewed during the observation is shown as purple in this color scheme. The ultraviolet-light image was taken during a flyby in December 2004. A visible light image taken on the same date is shown on the right for reference (see PIA06166). 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 was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph was designed and built at, and the team is based at the University of Colorado, Boulder. 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/home/index.cfm. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph team home page is at http://lasp.colorado.edu/cassini. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org. Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image Images taken with Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph shed some light on the dark side of Saturn's moon Iapetus. Scientists are trying to figure out what painted Iapetus' dark side. This is one of the biggest mysteries scientists are trying to answer during the upcoming Sept. 10, 2007, flyby. The ultraviolet image on the left indicates water ice abundance across the surface: the bright north polar terrain (shown in red) is the iciest region in this view. Away from the pole, as the color shifts to blue, less water ice is present in the surface. The darkest terrain, which includes very little water ice, is shown in light blue. The dark sky background viewed during the observation is shown as purple in this color scheme. The ultraviolet-light image was taken during a flyby in December 2004. A visible light image taken on the same date is shown on the right for reference (see PIA06166). 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 was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph was designed and built at, and the team is based at the University of Colorado, Boulder. 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/home/index.cfm. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph team home page is at http://lasp.colorado.edu/cassini. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org. Original Caption Released with Image
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/University of Colorado/Space Science Institute Image_Credit NASA/JPL/University of Colorado/Space Science Institute Image Credit
Produced By:
University of Colorado Boulder Produced_By University of Colorado Boulder Produced By
Mission:
Cassini Mission Cassini Mission
Spacecraft:
Cassini Orbiter Spacecraft Cassini Orbiter Spacecraft
Target Name:
Iapetus Target_Name Iapetus Target Name
Is a satellite of:
Saturn Is_a_satellite_of Saturn Is a satellite of
Instrument:
Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Instrument Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Instrument
Product Size:
1077 samples x 617 lines Product_Size 1077 samples x 617 lines Product Size
Primary Data Set:
Cassini Primary_Data_Set Cassini Primary Data Set
facet_what:
Moon facet_what Moon facet_what
facet_what:
Polar facet_what Polar facet_what
facet_what:
Saturn facet_what Saturn facet_what
facet_what:
Cassini facet_what Cassini facet_what
facet_what:
Visible Light facet_what Visible Light facet_what
facet_what:
Iapetus facet_what Iapetus facet_what
facet_what:
Cassini Orbiter facet_what Cassini Orbiter facet_what
facet_what:
Huygens Probe facet_what Huygens Probe facet_what
facet_what:
Cassini-Huygens facet_what Cassini-Huygens facet_what
facet_what:
Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) facet_what Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) facet_what
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory facet_where Jet Propulsion Laboratory facet_where
facet_where:
Saturn facet_where Saturn facet_where
facet_where:
California facet_where California facet_where
facet_where:
Washington facet_where Washington facet_where
facet_where:
Colorado facet_where Colorado facet_where
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) facet_where Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) facet_where
facet_where:
Washington, D.C. facet_where Washington, D.C. facet_where
facet_when:
December 2004 facet_when December 2004 facet_when
facet_when_year:
2004 facet_when_year 2004 facet_when_year
Image #:
PIA09970 Image_# PIA09970 Image #
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA09970 UID SPD-PHOTJ-PIA09970 UID
orignial url:
http://photojournal… orignial_url http://photojournal… orignial url

Exposing Iapetus' Dark Side

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Exposing Iapetus' Dark Side