Iapetus, the third-largest moon of Saturn, was the first of the four Saturnian moons discovered by Giovanni Domenico Cassini. He noticed that it was visible only on the western side of Saturn, which led him to conclude that one hemisphere was much darker than the other. This striking two-toned appearance was confirmed by the Cassini spacecraft, which found a very dark leading hemisphere, probably coated with material from outside, and a bright trailing one. The moon also has a high equatorial ridge that makes it look like a walnut, and its orbit is unusually tilted compared with Saturn's other large moons.
Before and after
- 4 October 1669Death of Rembrandt
- 1670Founding of Fall River
- 1670Construction of avenue des Champs-Élysées
- 1671Construction of Badshahi Mosque
- 25 October 1671Discovery of Iapetus
- from 1672 to 1676Polish–Ottoman War of 1672–1676
- from 6 April 1672 to 17 September 1678Franco-Dutch War
- 30 May 1672Birth of Peter the Great
- from 18 August 1672 to 27 August 1672Siege of Kamenets
More in Universe & space
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Callisto
- 7 January 1610Discovery of Ganymede
- 7 January 1610Galileo discovers the moons of Jupiter
- 23 December 1672Discovery of Rhea
- 21 March 1684Discovery of Dione
- 21 March 1684Discovery of Tethys
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.