Other
Scientific paper
Jun 1983
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1983natur.303..782s&link_type=abstract
Nature (ISSN 0028-0836), vol. 303, June 30, 1983, p. 782-785.
Other
35
Albedo, Iapetus, Methane, Oberon, Projectile Cratering, Satellite Surfaces, Ejecta, Ice, Impact Damage, Organic Materials, Planetary Evolution, Ultraviolet Radiation, Saturn, Satellites, Iapetus, Albedo, Asymmetry, Surface, Distribution, Observations, Patterns, Composition, Flux, Methane, Ice, Evaporation, Volatilization, Diagrams, Photographs, Voyager 2, Hypotheses, Source, Regolith, Transport, Gravity Effects, Irradiation, Optical Properties, Depth, Photochemistry, Comparisons, Organic Material
Scientific paper
Observational data for Iapetus and other Saturn moons are used to show that the dark areas on Iapetus feature organic chromophores caused by UV irradiation of CH4-rich ice. The Iapetus albedo pattern, brighter at the poles and in the trailing hemisphere, is suggested to originate from ballistic impact redistribution of surface material in terms of an impact flux gradient. The orange/violet color ratios from Voyager imagery were measured as 1.46 for the leading hemisphere and 1.24 for the trailing hemisphere. The evolution of the Iapetus regolith during processes of ice evaporation, impact ablation, material transport, and chemical alteration is discussed for factors causing the albedo asymmetry. Comparisons of surface features of Titan, Oberon,, and Hyperion with those of Iapetus indicate a balance may exist between UV photochemistry and ablation on Iapetus, with the impact gradient having been determined by the tidally locked revolution of the moon. Voyager 2 data on the uranian moons are expected to offer confirmation or denial of the model.
Sagan Carl
Squyres Steve W.
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